Anonymity on social networking site encouraging cyber bullies
June 8th, 2010 - 12:56 pm ICT by ANI
Melbourne, June 8 (ANI): The trend of cyber bullies is becoming rampant, as users on a social networking site become perfect targets for them.
International site FormSpring.Me has recorded an incredible growth in popularity among Australian teenagers since its launch in November.
The free site has user accounts, which can be linked to Twitter or Facebook. It allows users to post questions and write responses anonymously.
According to Australian cyber bullying expert, former police officer Susan McLean, more and more parents approach her every day to seek help for their children who are victims of online bullies.
“It’s becoming problematic - more people are joining it and more people are abusing it,” The Daily Telegraph quoted McLean as saying.
“There is nothing positive with FormSpring.Me. You go on it to wreak havoc with someone else’s life.”
The phenomenon has become such a serious threat, that the site instructs users facing harassment to deny anonymous questions, block unwanted users or, in the case of a threat or crime, contact the police.
Sydney girl Teagan Christodoulou, 15, said she was invited to set up a FormSpring.Me account through social networking site Facebook.
“Five weeks later a girl started saying really nasty things about me,” she said.
“Teagan is a backstabbing slut,” read one of the anonymous posts.
“It was upsetting. I always thought I was pretty much friends with everyone,” Teagan said. (ANI)
- UK kids as young as 7 have Facebook accounts, get 'cyber bullied' - Mar 15, 2011
- 5 meanest sites your kids should never visit - Oct 10, 2010
- British kids call police after bullying on Facebook - Apr 13, 2012
- Cyber crime targets 5.4 mn Australians - Sep 06, 2012
- UK teachers warned of students "whipping up abuse" on Facebook - Jan 13, 2011
- Facebook vows new measures against bullying - Aug 12, 2010
- 20 pc head teachers in UK being bullied on Facebook: Poll - May 01, 2011
- Cyber criminals increasingly targeting social networks - Jan 19, 2011
- 'Bitchy' website lets pupils make anonymous comments about each other - Dec 22, 2010
- Facebook-related crimes in Britain hit 100,000-mark - Dec 14, 2010
- Virtual police in UK to patrol Facebook in hunt for cyber bullies - Feb 27, 2011
- Cyber threats forecast for 2011 released - Oct 08, 2010
- Facebook to ask users phone details - Jun 15, 2012
- Court issues notice over taxing internet-based firms (Second Lead) - Jun 06, 2012
- Mark Zuckerberg sued by Facebook investors - Jun 05, 2012
Tags: anonymity, anonymous posts, anonymous questions, australian teenagers, backstabbing, christodoulou, daily telegraph, formspring, harassment, havoc, launch, melbourne, nasty things, phenomenon, police officer, social networking site, susan mclean, teagan, unwanted users, user accounts