by KYW’s Michelle Durham
Federal charges were filed this week against a Missouri mother accused of using a MySpace account to send nasty messages to one of her daughter's former friends. The friend was so distraught over the messages she committed suicide. One local expert explains how parents can protect their children from bully's they can't see.
Anti-Defamation League spokesperson Randi Boyette says unlike traditional bullying, bullying by texting or e-mail spreads like wildfire through a school; lives forever on the Internet and terrifies the victims so much they rarely tell anyone:
"There are reports, 41.5 percent of targets of this didn't tell anybody, 38 percent told an online friend while only 11.3 percent told their parents."
Boyette says kids are afraid that they will have their cell phones or computers taken away. But if your child does come to you, Boyette offers advice for handling the situation:
"If the child hasn't already saved and printed out these communications, the parent should say, ‘if this happens again, print it out. Let me take a look at it.’ Parents can also check e-mail and cell phone history."
If you find out the cyber bully is a classmate, contact the school principal. If the messages are threatening, contact the police.
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