Should Cyberbullying Be a Criminal Offense?

Bullying has long been a problem in school but was usually confined to the schoolyard or hallway.  Technology makes bullying even easier than it was before with email, chat rooms, blogs, camera phones, text messaging and social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace.   

There was a time when all bullying happened in person but now with the Internet, children can bully each other through all these popular methods of communication even anonymously.

Cyber bullies can humiliate, threaten, and belittle their victims without their identity being known, or they can have an audience of thousands. 

Many children report being bullied via the Internet or cell phones, and the effects can be devastating.  They also report they spread rumors and say other mean things online where many different people can see it. 

Cyber Bullying Statistics

• 42% of kids have been bullied while online. 1 in 4 have had it happen more than once.
• 35% of kids have been threatened online. Nearly 1 in 5 have had it happen more than once.
• 21% of kids have received mean or threatening e-mail or other messages.
• 58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out of 10 say it has happened more than once.
• 53% of kids admit having said something mean or hurtful to another person online. More than 1 in 3 have done it more than once.
• 58% have not told their parents or an adult about something mean or hurtful that happened to them online.

Source

The consequences of cyber-bullying are as damaging and serious as bullying in face-to-face interactions. Reports from the Cyber-bullying Research Center show that it can result in lower self-esteem, a greater probability of suicidal and feelings of anger, frustration and fear. 

Many states such as, New Jersey, Delaware, Oregon, Washington, Iowa, Idaho, and California have approved laws requiring schools to develop policies intended to stop cyber bullying as well as to have the right to suspend or expel cyber bullies.  

Some experts agree that using the law to address this problem will not get a final solution.  First the law needs to be observed whether it would be effective in this new hybrid online- offline environment to discourage this kind of behavior.  Next, making sure that law enforcement officials have the support, they need to get the job done.

According to Robert Trestan, civil rights counsel for the Anti-Defamation League.  says that  “No one, regardless of age, is exempt from the current criminal laws. Passing new laws to criminalize bullying will only lead to kids leaving school with a record instead of a diploma. It is not the solution.”

Schools must develop programs to teach children about cyber-bullying and its impact mechanism for prevention and response need to be established, and everyone should be educated.  All needs to be in place before an incident happens.

In conclusion, the federal law will not prevent tragedies from happening. It's a commitment to teaching and mentoring, to being supportive and to be aware of the problem.

So, What do you think?  Should Cyberbullying be punished? Does society needs to take better preventative measurements to avoid further consequences?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this important issue.  Please leave your comments below.