“Cyber-bullying” is a new term that seems to be a common phrase amongst 21st century teenagers. Each day, thousands of kids are harassed through text messaging, instant messaging or Facebook, and this number is consistently rising.

After noticing a rise in cyber bullying, he U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that in the year 2000, only nine percent of kids, ages 10 to 17, experienced this type of bullying. However, by 2008, the percentage had reached 50 and has proven to be escalating each day.

“It’s always easier to say something to someone via phone call or text versus to their face,” said Katherine Brown, 10.

Although this may be the truth, this attitude is what unfortunately attributes to the thousands of cyber-bullying cases each year. On the Internet, it is easier for bullies to remain anonymous, making it that much more difficult to put an end to the abuse.

“Bullies are scared to say stuff to people’s faces, so they do it over the Internet instead so they can think about what they want to say,” said Maayan Yarchi, 9.

i-SAFE Inc., a worldwide leader in Internet safety education, conducted a survey to prove the rise of cyber bullying. Their conclusions showed that 53 percent of the 1500 students surveyed admitted to saying something mean or hurtful to another person through the Internet. 58 percent of those surveyed admitted to having had someone say something hurtful to them online.

Even more alarming, 58 percent never told their parents about the harassment.

While it may seem like the simplest solution is to take away computer privileges, many of today’s teens use the Internet for school purposes, making this resolution impossible.

“I use the Internet at least twice a day to check my grades on Blackboard. I can’t imagine if the Internet was taken away,” said Ariana Speridakos, 10.

This means that the most effective way to prevent cyber bullying is to educate students about it.

“I think the more we teach people about cyber bullying and the effects it can have on people, the less it will happen,” said Brown.

– Posted: Thu, Apr 15 2010 3:39:34 PM EST by Emma Oh