Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying refers to bullying through information and communication technologies. It is a fast growing trend that is believed to be more harmful than traditional school yard bullying. The nature of the technology means that bullies have access to their victims 24/7 (Webster n.d.).

No bullying is harmless and can in some cases even constitute criminal behaviour. In the Australian legal system using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence is a relatively new cyber-stalking offence punishable by a maximum jail sentence of 3 years. Two Australian defence cadets will face trail in August 2013 under this law over sex acts being broadcast to other men without the knowledge or consent of the female cadet involved.

You should also reconsider sending foul-mouthed, derogatory and inflammatory text messages as this can result in hefty fines. Miko (2011) reports on a pair being fined $300 each for this very act. England cricketer Kevin Pietersen experienced backlash over his derogatory emails to South African players. Pietersen was dropped from the team over emails that he considered to be bantering at the time he sent it. He has since apologised.

Tragically sometimes cyberbullying leads to suicide as was the case for Sheniz Erkan and Megan Meier.  I mention these two specifically to illustrate the intricacy of the situation and the extent to which cyber-bullies go. Investigations into the circumstances leading up to the death of Megan revealed that she was bullied by a boy she really liked, or so it seemed at first. In reality that boy never existed. It was a fake personality orchestrated by the mother of one of Megan's friends. Yes the mother.

What really gets to me about Sheniz (and countless others since) is that they are being bullied even after death. Tribute pages set up in their memories are being desecrated by so called trolls. Trolling refers to any Internet user behavior that is meant to intentionally anger or frustrate someone else in order to provoke a response.

Although hailed as heroes with great intelligence and a sense of humour by some, in the eyes of the law they are offenders. In 2010 Jessica Cook was given a suspended sentence for posting offensive material on the tribute page of Justine Jones. In 2011 Bradley Hampson was the first Australian convicted of internet trolling and sentenced to three years in jail for posting child pornography on the tribute pages of two slain schoolchildren.

In the above mentioned cases autism and loneliness were offered as explanation to justify their actions. However, not all trolls are created equally it seems. Insight ran a very educational program on this very topic.

 I learned a lot about the psyche self proclaimed trolls like Jamie Cochran. She classifies herself as a performance artist on the prowl for scalps. It is important to note that all trolls interviewed on Insight distance themselves from the desecration of tribute pages or hate campaigns. They do not classify behaviour like that as trolling but as vitriolic bullying. In Cochran's own words:

"Most of what I do, I do with great jest and playfulness. I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, I just want to make people think and laugh along the way.  I also look at [trolling] as a form of culture jamming, in the sense that it can disrupt the status quo to hopefully stop and make people think for a moment."

I doubt whether this play on semantics will impress Charlotte Dawson though. The ferocity of the death threats she received resulted in her ending up in hospital. She bravely tracked down her abusers in real life later. Their response once again highlights the severity of the problem. Some of them claim not knowing that things said on the internet would have a real impact in reality others claimed to have gained confidence in doing this.

For me the solution to cyberbullying lies in teaching compassion, because like Campbell (2005) I view bullying as a social problem. Only when we care enough about another being to imagine the pain we can inflict with our words, can we expect to turn this bullying trend around.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”
― Dalai Lama XIV

References
Campbell, , M 2005, 'Cyber bullying: an old problem in a new guise?', Australian journal of guidance and counselling, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 68 – 76, viewed 27 January 2013, <http://eprints.qut.edu.au/1925/1/1925.pdf>
Miko, t 2011, 'Texting lands couple in court', Central Queensland News, 29 April, viewed 4 February 2013,
Webster, C n.d., What is cyberbullying?, viewed 4 February 2013,