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Mobile tech spawns cyber bullies

Bonnie Tubbs
By Bonnie Tubbs, ITWeb telecoms editor.
Johannesburg, 27 Mar 2012

Cyber bullying is on the rise in SA, underpinned by the explosion of social networking sites, mobile social platforms and increased access to cellphones among the youth, which “provide a powerful space for young people to engage in public life”.

This is according to recent research by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention (CJCP), in which 1 726 young people, across four South African cities, shared their experiences of aggression via online platforms. The CJCP research shows that one in three children are victims of cyber bulling at school, while more than two in five (42.9%) had experienced some form of cyber aggression outside of school.

A recent incident of a teen trying to commit suicide following online humiliation, reported by Daily News, has highlighted the mounting problem. The 16-year-old, who was put on a “sluts list”, which went viral on BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) and Facebook, drank household detergents and petrol, but was saved by doctors.

The CJCP says, despite growing concerns around this form of malevolence, “very little empirical research has been done in SA on the extent and nature of these forms of cyber aggression”. What research does show at this point, however, is that almost one in two young people experience some form of cyber or online bullying. Exacerbating the problem, says the CJCP, is the fact that Internet and mobile technologies “increase anonymity and provide some level of disassociation with acts of aggression, making aggression and bullying much easier through these media”.

Parental control

Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, says the key to curbing cyber bullying is the role of parents in their children's technology lives. “This is the most obvious solution, yet seemingly the most difficult.”

Goldstuck says parents use excuses such as a lack of time to watch over their kids' activities, the fact that children know more about technology than their generation does, and “they play the privacy card”. The last excuse, he says, is no more than a red herring. “Parents wouldn't play that card when it comes to what happens to their children in the streets, or in shopping malls.”

More importantly, says Goldstuck, parents have a say as they essentially own the devices their children use, being the ones who pay for the technology and cellphone airtime or contract.

He says that, while cyber bullying in SA saw the worst case with mobile Web site Outoilet in 2010, it is increasingly moving to platforms such as Facebook and BBM. “It is key to note too that perpetrators on these platforms often use their own profiles and are, therefore, known. Victims must not see themselves as powerless to abuse. They need to take it up with their parents, school authorities and even the police.”

In a bid to educate parents and children, the CJCP has recently set up a Web page where information can be found on the different types of cyber bullying, key issues and tips.

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