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News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

The By Parents For Parents Blog is regularly updated with the latest news and information on topics that relate to parenting teenagers. We'll post parenting advice and tips from trusted online news sources and expert parenting columns.

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Friday, October 27, 2006

A New Kind of Bully

A new kind of bully has crept into the world of Instant Messaging and social networking (i.e. - MySpace or Facebook); the cyberbully. According to Bill Belsey, founder of www.cyberbullying.org, "Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies such as e-mail, cell phone and pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal web sites, and defamatory on-line personal polling web sites to support, deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others." It's a long description that essentially means the Internet has provided bullies a way to bully without having to look someone in the eye to do it.

"'The victim may be an active participant in the conversation... or may be quite unaware that he or she is being victimized...' said [Tony Jurich, Kansas State University professor of family studies]."

Experts at K-State say it's important for parents to understand the type of cyberbullying that can happen on line. It's also important to discuss cyberbullying with your kids. Make sure they know what to do if they're victims of this new kind of bullying. Read more online.

posted by ByParents-forParents at 12:15 PM

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Friday, October 27, 2006