By Jackie O'Neal, O'Neal Media Group     "Bullying behavior can assume a wide range of actions;" Jennifer Wong, author of No Bullies Allowed noted. She went on to point out, "Unfortunately, the advent of new forms of communication technology has added to the list of ways in which children and youths can be victimized by others."

In terms of cyber-bullying alone, statistics estimate, 42 percent of children have been bullied while online and one in four report it happening more than once. Further, 58 percent of school age kids report not revealing online harassment to their parents, or other adults.

Dr. Uma Gupta, in an article Can Internet Babies Coo? pointed out the devastating impact of cyber-bullying. Gupta pointed out," Cyber-bullying is the use of any and all forms of digital media such as instant messaging, blogs, websites, emails, chat rooms, and cell phones with the sole intent to cause harm. This may include intent to humiliate, threaten, embarrass, cause emotional distress, reputation loss, demand submission, perpetuate hate, and distort the identities and motives of others."

Gupta explained that the anonymity inherent in the process of cyber-stalking makes the experience even more insidious."In an unsupervised digital world, with few laws and no boundaries, where identities are fluid and fiction becomes fact overnight, cyber-bullying is an exciting game for digital predators. While in face-to-face bullying the identity of the bully is known, in cyber-bullying the identity of the bully is often masked or anonymous.

Bullying is restricted to a geographic location whereas cyber-bullying is a drama played out on a world-wide stage with free and ready access to anyone, anywhere, at any time to watch or participate in the process. In an unsupervised digital world, with few laws and no boundaries, where identities are fluid and fiction becomes fact overnight, cyber-harassment is an exciting game for digital predators."

In terms of Internet pornography, more than 11 million teens report viewing pornography online. According to the Pew Research Center, "most Americans say parents are primarily to blame when children are exposed to explicit sex or graphic violence."

The Pew survey reported, fully 79% say inadequate parental supervision ­ rather than inadequate laws  is mostly responsible for children being exposed to that sort of offensive material; there are no significant political or religious differences on this point. And by more than ten-to-one (86%-8%), the public believes that parents, rather than the entertainment industry, bear the most responsibility for keeping children from seeing sex and violence in TV and movies."

The research conducted by Pew also revealed that parents are fraught with worries over what their own children are being exposed to in the media, but they praised the tools that help them "make entertainment choices for their families." Further, the research conducted by Pew demonstrated "roughly six-in-ten parents (62%) say there is enough information available to help them decide whether movies, TV, video games and music lyrics are appropriate.

Majorities of parents also say they have at least a fair amount of trust in ratings for TV, movies and video games, as well as advisory labels for music. In addition, roughly half of parents who go online (51%) say they have a filtering system to prevent access to pornography over the web."

Danielle Tiano, author of Temptation of A Generation recognizes the dangers of, as Dr. Uma Gupta put it, "an unsupervised digital world." Her book series, she said offers empowerment for both parents and children to keep the channels of communication open.The book series, focuses on the potential dangers of today’s most popular technologies; Cyber Bullying, Social Networking, Cell Phone/Texting, and Internet Pornography. Based in Southern California, Tiano has been involved in charitable endeavors, most recently including Miller’s Children’s Hospital, The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and The Karen Child Family Foundation. 

For the full report and an interview with Danielle Tiano, visit How Parents And Children Confront The Dangers of The Digital World.

This article was written by Jackie O'Neal, O'Neal Media Group. About Jackie O'Neal:

Jackie O'Neal has been a part of Women's Online Magazine's editorial department since June 2007. As the news editor of Women's Online Magazine, she came in contact with entrepreneurs from a variety of industries that were eager to keep their profiles high in the marketplace. As a result, she launched O'Neal Media Group a public relations consultancy that works with small business and non-profits. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

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