Cyberbullying on the rise in Oz

A 9-year-old girl receiving porn on her cell phone, a 12-year-old being text-stalked (harassed via text messages) on his. Of course, cyberbullying also happens in chat, IM, and email. What has become fairly common in the UK - especially via cell phones - is now hitting radar screens in Australia. "A 2002 UK study found that one in four children has been bullied by computer or cell phone," Australian IT reports. The problem is, this virtual type of bullying is even less apparent to adults than "traditional" bullying is. "A parent can't always monitor their child on the computer or phone." The Australian IT article is a good overview of the problem and of steps being taken in that country. See too a feature in the SafeKids/NetFamilyNewsletter last February and the premier cyberbullying info site: Bill Belsey's Cyberbullying.ca.