Cyber Bullies

Monday 28 January 08

Fake internet sites set up by cyber bullies are causing misery for many young people according to BBC.

One mother from County Fermanagh has described the distress caused by a fake Bebo page created about her child which made fun of them. It contained photographs and references which mocked them.She said it affected their personality and school work; they became grumpy and found it hard to concentrate.

It might be very easy to make a fake Bebo page about someone but it is also easy to find out who is behind it. The police helped to trace the six people responsible and the page was removed.

PC Leslie Ward from the PSNI Community Safety Unit in Enniskillen is running an internet safety course in schools for parents and children. She said online bullying is becoming more common. "Most people's worries are online predators and young people being groomed online.

"The main problem that I would be seeing at the minute is actually a problem with social networking sites such as Bebo and cyber bullying."

Tracey Armstrong is a project officer with Everybody Online which helps to break down barriers for people who don't know how to access technology like the internet. She said it is important to always be thinking about who you're talking to online. "Whenever you're on the internet and someone gets in touch with you who you do not know, you really don't know if that person is who they say they are.

"They could be a completely different person behind the photograph and their name."

She added: "If you put information up on the internet it's really like giving somebody the keys to your house and whenever you're out in the street you'd never do that.

"So it's always important to exercise caution before you post anything on to the internet about yourself. At the end of the day the internet is a really useful tool but unfortunately it's open to abuse like anything else."

Have you ever experienced being bullied on the internet? Does it happen to a lot of young people and what can be done to stop it? WIMPS Forum