Parents must wise up to tormentors' new tools
Related Articles
THE mobile phone and the internet are the new tools for bullies. Bullying has always been a feature of school life -- what's different nowadays is that there are new forms of media that are used to torment their victims.
Many parents have little or no understanding of the dangers involved in 'social-networking' sites such as Bebo and Facebook. They are not just harmless, fun methods of communication.
The use of these sites is banned in schools which also try to restrict the use of mobile phones, including camera phones.
But that does not stop the bullies using them after school hours and at weekends, posting unacceptable messages on the Web or sending hurtful or threatening messages by phone, often anonymously.
A minority even create false blogs or web pages which can contain the most malicious lies about a person, including unfounded allegations about their sexuality.
Distorted images are sometimes put up on these pages to demonise and ridicule victims. Young people are often careless with their passwords or choose ones that can be easily guessed, which hands a powerful key to a potential bully.
We've all heard of cases of so-called 'happy slapping' which, fortunately, are rare enough in Ireland. This is where a person is beaten up and the recorded film is shared with other mobile users or on the net.
But fights are also being arranged in some Irish schools, which are similarly recorded on mobile phones and uploaded to the internet, says Rose Tully of the National Parents Council (post-primary).
She points out that the victims do suffer, physically and mentally -- in some extreme cases so much that they contemplate or actually commit suicide.
Girls suffer more than boys as has been shown by a number of surveys, including the one conducted for tonight's 'Prime Time' special.
The response of the victims depends on their resilience. John MacGabhann, of the Teachers' Union of Ireland, says internet bullying is now more prevalent in more affluent areas where students tend to be more "digitally literate" and have more access to computers.
And, of course, it's not just pupils who suffer.
For years, teachers have long been the butt of nasty comments on ratemyteacher.ie.
Vilification
Some teachers were actually driven out of the profession such was the vilification they had to endure.
So what can parents do about their children who are either bullied or are themselves bullies?
They first need a greater understanding of the available technology which has great potential for good educational usage but can also be used for bullying, "grooming" of vulnerable young people for sexual exploitation and for delving into unsavoury websites.
The National Centre for Technology in Education runs courses for parents and teachers. The centre created webwise.ie which encourages parents to discover the internet together with their children and which has valuable guidance on internet safety.
But they also need to encourage their children to report bullying.
Many don't realise that it is an offence to harass a person by use of a mobile phone, but the law is a bit vaguer on bullying via the internet.
Just be wise to the internet is the best advice.
- John Walshe
