Rise of the cyberbully demands new rules

Back in the mid-'80s, I thought I was clever for writing a very simple program on my dad's Apple computer. The outcome was an endless-loop printout, several pages long, of crass statements about a classmate that I took to school and randomly dropped in the halls. I was soon nabbed by the principal and suspended. Who knows what kind of trouble I would've gotten myself into if I'd had access to today's high-tech gadgets, which are more powerful and ubiquitous than previous generations of practical jokers ever dreamed of.

Schools around the country are starting to see a dramatic increase in the misuse of all kinds of technology, and it has caught a lot of us - both parents and educators - off guard. It's hard enough to keep track of kids while they're in the actual school building or at home. Now adults are being asked to monitor and discipline them in cyberspace, which kids can access just about anywhere, any time.

Technology has spawned a host of thorny problems but none more pernicious than the cyberbully - anyone who repeatedly misuses technology to harass, intimidate, or terrorize another person. Usually such bullying takes the form of inappropriate and hurtful e-mails, instant messages, or text messages, or website posts involving threats or rumors. Often the author is disguised as someone else.

But we're bracing for even nastier stuff with the arrival of the new line of camera phones that can instantly access the Web. It's now possible for a child to sneak into a bathroom or a locker room, snap a few pictures, and upload those pictures directly from the phone to a website. There, they can be viewed, downloaded, and archived by anyone with a computer connection to the Web. All this can be accomplished in seconds - a scary thought, both for the victim and for the perpetrator.

Despite technology's benefits - especially for educating young people - its instantaneous nature is a major downside and has revolutionized the possibilities for major and minor mischief. It has all but erased the reflection time that once existed between the planning of a silly prank - or a serious stunt - and its commission. Simultaneously, the power and speed of technology has made it nearly impossible to contain a regrettable deed - because once committed, there's almost no way to retrieve and destroy all evidence of it in cyberspace.

Schools, technology companies, and parents need to educate themselves and take responsibility for getting this growing problem under control.

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