Bullying during the old days used to be up close and personal. Victims were abused either physically or verbally by their bullies face to face, but things are a little different now. With the advent of technology, bullies now no longer have to confront their victims. They can intimidate and taunt their peers while hiding electronically, thus, make cyber bullying 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,” said Professor Faye Mishna of 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.

Academics studying the growth in so-called cyber-bullying discovered that youngsters, particularly girls, ruthlessly exploited every new technological gadget and craze.

According to Professor Faye Mishna, cyber bullies are "forcing" friends to strip for their webcams, and are then sending the images to all and sundry. This is particularly true between girls and their boyfriends, and even more so when a couple breaks up, she said.

Girls might send a topless picture to their boyfriend and she is pressured to do it thinking he's just going to see it. So she gives in and the next thing you know it's all over the place, Mishna told Reuters.

Mishna, headed a research team that held focus groups with 47 students in grades 5-12, said they will complete the research this summer and publish the same by autumn.

Based on the findings thus far, Mishna, said education and communication are two of the most valuable tools that parents have to prevent cyber bullying and to encourage safe use of the Internet and other forms of technology.

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