WASHINGTON, Jul 15, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- So-called cyberbullying is
becoming a serious problem in the age of MySpace and YouTube and is emerging as
a public health threat, experts say.
The percentage of U.S. youngsters aged 10 to 17 who said they were victims of
cyberbullying increased from 6 percent to 9 percent from 2000-05, to a report by
the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center, as
reported by USA Today Tuesday, said.
The report also found that the number of young people who said they had "made
rude or nasty comments to someone on the Internet" increased from 14 percent to
28 percent in the same period.
But experts say many more instances of cyberbulling go unreported because of the
fear that tormentors will become angrier and bully them more and the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control calls it "an emerging public-health problem" that
needs more attention, USA Today said.
"You're bullied twice," Nancy Willard, author of "Cyber-Safe Kids," "Cyber-Savvy
Teens" and "Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats" told USA Today. "You're bullied in
the real world with a physical attack, and then you're bullied online with
humiliation. It's very hurtful. Very, very hurtful."
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2008 by United Press International