Australian poll taken on cyber-bullying

Barcelona News.Net
Wednesday 22nd July, 2009

Australian parents are concerned about a spate of teen suicides linked to cyber-bullying.

One of the first comprehensive studies of cyber-bullying has just been concluded and shows many teenagers and children have experienced some form of sustained bullying over the Internet or mobile phone.

With twenty-thousand Australian school children surveyed, the results showed about 10 per cent of them had been cyber-bullied.

A Melbourne mother has blamed her 14-year-old daughter's recent suicide on the Internet with the tragic case highlighting the problem of on-line bullying among young people.

The girl apparently told her mother a message had come through on the Internet which had made her want to kill herself.

The girl's death has devastated her family and friends, and has drawn into sharp focus the current study.

Psychologists have warned that children who have been bullied are much more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and self-esteem issues, leading to strong thoughts of suicide.

Children and teenagers had complained the on-line bullying and rumours about them had hurt their reputation, sense of popularity, and had harmed them socially, emotionally and mentally.

One of the biggest problems identified by the study was that young people did not think adults were taking cyber-bullying seriously.

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