Facebook’s growing popularity has given rise to a new problem: cyber-bullying.
Teens and young adults who engage in cyber-bullying use Internet resources to spread rumors about their peers- a practice site managers and advocates are looking to rein in.
“We are aware of cyber-bullying and the way in which people can do mean or hurtful things to each other using Facebook,” Facebook spokeswoman Carolyn Abram said in an email. “We don’t want this to happen, and we do everything we can to prevent it.”
Abram said the site’s Terms of Use policy actually limits site administrators’ ability to respond to cyber-bullies.
“Unfortunately, we can’t prevent all hurtful behavior, so we address such situations quickly once we become aware of an incident,” she said. “We have report buttons all over the site and quickly investigate all reports.”
“Also, we cooperate fully with law enforcement when they present us with proper legal process,” she continued.
Nancy Willard, the executive director for the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use, said she created a website to call attention to the problem of cyber-bullying.
“I recognized about three years ago that cyber-bullying was an emerging problem,” she said. “I knew then that it was going to have a significant impact, especially in K-12 schools. I created the website as a vehicle to provide outreach and education to school officials.”
Willard said she has worked specifically with Facebook administrators to prevent cyber-bullying.
“I’ve met with and had some nice conversations with one of the top executives of Facebook” she said. “There’s an acknowledgment on his part that cyber-bullying is a concern there which is interesting to me because a lot of Facebook folks are actually at the college level.”
“I always kind of thought that bullying is more of an issue that occurs during adolescence,” she continued. “It’s of concern to me that it appears it is also an issue that is continuing into the university [level].”
Willard explained that there are different ways cyber bullies attack their victims.
“The cyber-bullies are sending email messages and text messages and posting messages that are directed to the person he or she is trying to bully,” she explained. “An indirect form is creating a ‘We Hate Molly’ profile.”
“There are also some unique ways that cyber bullies can use the Internet,” she added. “One is by impersonation which is when someone creates a profile pretending to be someone else and uses that to spread rumors. There’s also trickery – or tricking someone into disclosing really personal information online.”
Doreen Gallagher, a youth violence prevention counselor who works in Brookline, said she has seen the issue of online bullying grow, yet she said she does not think the problem is just occurring in Brookline.
“I think there is a trend here that we need to pay attention to,” she said. “It’s not just a Brookline problem.”