It Law cyber Bulleying

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Information Technology Law XLL06-6 2007-2008 Portfolio 1

What is cyber bullying? To what extent is cyber bullying more imagined than real? How can it be controlled?

This Portfolio is based on the evolution of the cyber world along with its evils. Here it will be discussed the impact of the cyber world in the real life. As the assignment progress it will be explained how they are related to each other and how are they dependent on one another. Email, www, dot.com , websites , love and dating has become a common stuff today on the internet. Businesses, relationship, crime, human interaction and above all the different behaviour makes this internet a digital world which could be considered as the cyber space. Cyber space in cyber age has cyber evils such as cyber bullying.

Cyber bullying (also spelled Cyber-bullying, Cyber bullying or online bullying) is the term used to refer to bullying and harassment by use of electronic devices though means of e-mail, instant messaging, text messages, blogs, mobile phones, pagers, and websites.

Cyber bullying: (aka e-Bullying) Occurs when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using technology-based forms of communication such as e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, the social networks1. Cyber bullying is new and growing form of bullying that has emerged with the advent of technology. It involves sending offensive, humiliating or threatening messages or images through the computer or cell phone2. Cyber bullying may exist in different forms and shapes ranging from a cruel joke to a vicious threat, and it ma be perpetrated by some one the victim know or by a complete stranger. There are cases where  online bullying lead to face to face bullying and internet fight was brought to an arena where they feel comfortable. This evil practice has increased overwhelmingly in recent years to the extent that it is now a serious concern for many parents and school officials

1Source:StopCyberbullying.org,http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/what_is_cyberbullying_exactly.html.

2 The ABC's of Bullying Prevention a Comprehensive Schoolwide Approach: By Kenneth Shore, Published 2005.

In a survey3 of 1500 schools, it was found that 37 percent acknowledged being bullied or threatened online. The pervasiveness of cyberbullying is imminent in large and wide scale use of Internet by children and teens. In the present age the Internet in used as source of information and medium of communication, many people use it to talk with their friends and families and to develop new relations and obtain and pass information. The online activities not merely bound to sending emails, it has various other usages as well, for example sanding instant messages (IMs), posting information, bloging, chatting, commenting and developing your own web sites.  The worrying factor in this new emerging development is bad use of technology for anti- social purposes. It could be devastating to many victims of cyberbullying, there have cases in which victims did commit suicide just because of the fact they were bullied online4. The government is issuing guidelines to help schools tackle the problem of cyberbullying5. Cyberbullying is worse than face-to-face bullying because it's bolder," says Julianne a victim of cyber bullying. There are two kinds of cyberbullying, direct attacks (messages sent to your kids directly) and cyberbullying by proxy (using others to help cyberbully the victim, either with or without the accomplice's knowledge). Because cyberbullying by proxy often gets adults involved in the harassment, it is much more dangerous6. Often people who misuse the Internet to target others do it using accomplices. These accomplices, unfortunately, are often unsuspecting. They know they are communicating irate or provocative messages, but don't realize that they are being manipulated by the real cyberharasser or cyberbully. That's the beauty of this type of scheme. The attacker merely prods the issue by creating indignation or emotion on the part of others, can sit back and let others do their dirty work. Then, when legal action or other punitive actions are taken against the accomplice, the real attacker can claim that they never instigated anything and no one was acting on their behalf. They claim innocence and blame their accomplices, unwitting or not. And their accomplices have no legal leg to stand on.

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3 conducted by I-Safe America, an internet safety organisation.

4 Cyberbullies an increasing problem with technology boom By BECKY WILKES/Starkville Daily News

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5 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7006473.stm, Published: 2007/09/21 11:17:02 GMT

6 Parry’s Guide on Cyber bullying.

Cyberbullying   The        Impacts.  .
Unlike physical or verbal bullying that often stops once a child has reached the sanctity of home, the effects of cyberbullying can be more far reaching. With a third of teens (33%) now using instant messaging services several times a day and over a quarter (27%) accessing their blog more than once a week, cyberbullying has the potential to cut off ...

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