Even timid can be nameless bullies on Web, forum told
April 4, 2007
Trish Crawford
STAFF WRITER
Ottawa–The anonymity of cyberspace has made it the perfect bullies' tool so even timid kids, who would never throw a punch, join on-line aggression, Internet experts have told an international bullying conference.
"Anonymity is the catalyst for this behaviour," Cathy Wing, education director of Media Awareness Network, said.
Computers, cell phones with text and video capabilities and web cameras are involved and the bullying is done out of school and away from parental supervision, said Wing, in her address yesterday to 400 educators and students at the I Am Safe Conference. Her studies of on-line use found 60 per cent of teens pretend to be someone else, 28 per cent claim to be older and 23 per cent flirt with older people. This opens them to abuse and to the risk they'll bully those they dislike.
Shaheen Shariff, assistant professor of education at McGill University, said her daughter got a hate message that began, "You don't know who I am," and ended with, "Down on Your Knees Bitch." After contacting police, one of four boys involved confessed his computer was used. Children bullied on- line are those bullied at school, she added, based on racism, sexism, homophobia and bias against anyone "different."
Toronto Star