Newswise — Children who bully appear to have found a new platform to intimidate and taunt their peers and preliminary research from the University of Toronto indicates that cyber bullying is becoming more prevalent.

“With more children and youth using the Internet, e-mail, text messaging, social networking sites and webcams, we’re seeing more bullying through these forms of technology,” says Faye Mishna, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Work and co-principal investigator of a research initiative on the Cyber Abuse of Children and Youth, funded by Bell Canada. Bell’s support has made it possible for U of T researchers to pursue a number of separate studies that will increase understanding of cyberbullying and all forms of cyberabuse, and help prevent these new forms of victimization.

Mishna led a research team that held focus groups with students between grades 5 and 12 in the Greater Toronto Area. Among the findings was the image of the cyber aggressor hiding behind the anonymity of the keyboard. The students told researchers that they believed the Internet made it easier for kids to bully others by saying hurtful things they might not say in a face-to-face encounter.

The virtual world also allowed bullying to continue after the school day ended, invading the student’s home. The focus group sessions revealed that children and youth do not tell an adult about being cyber bullied because they fear that their computer privileges will be taken away. Participants also felt that since cyber aggressors could not be identified there was no use in telling parents about what was happening.

This is cache, read story here