Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a specific type of bullying perpetrated through the use of technology, such as computers and cell phones. Cyberbullying is far more common than can be tracked because teenagers will go to lengths to hide their identities when they bully people, using fake names on profiles. Cyberbullying was not considered particularly important until cases involving teenage suicides began to come to light.

One of the earliest and most famous case involved Irish student Phoebe Prince, who was bullied online to such a degree that she killed herself. It seems that some girls decided to bully her because she had dated a popular senior boy for a few weeks. Following her case, more and more cyberbullying cases have received national attention.

Cyberbullying is hard to regulate within schools because it occurs both inside and outside the walls of the school, making it hard to discern legal boundaries that are actionable for the school.

It is unfortunate that cyberbullying is so hard to legislate; it has the same effects as other forms of bullying, and can lead to psychological trauma. Sites have recently been created to try and stop cyberbullying and to inform people about it.

To read more about Cyberbullying, click here.