Dr. Phil tackles cyberbullying

June 25th, 2010 - 8:33 pm ICT by Aishwarya Bhatt  

es_0624_drphil_244x183 Washington DC, Jun 25 (THAINDIAN NEWS) During a House Education subcommittee hearing on Thursday, talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw raised the issue of cyber bullying.

McGraw said the issue of cyber bullying is long overdue. He told the subcommittee that children who are bullied on the Internet are 1.9 times more likely to attempt committing suicide than the rest of the population.

The issue of cyber bullying has come up lately, because of some high level cases lately. In March this year, about nine teenagers from Massachusetts were charged for their involvement in the online bullying that ultimately resulted to the suicide of a 15-year-old girl.

During the hearing, McGraw told the lawmakers that kids who face this problem feel too ashamed and embarrassed to discuss it with their parents. “I get tens of thousands of letters at ‘The Dr. Phil Show’ of kids asking for help about this. It is a serious crisis — 42 percent of kids say they have been bullied on the Internet, 35 percent of kids say they have been threatened,” said McGraw.

McGraw said he believes the Internet has become a very dangerous place for kids, and if not properly managed, it might lead to a much bigger problem.

McGraw said teachers, parents and administrators should be given the necessary tools to they need to prevent and stop the menace. He said they must also be given the necessary advice to handle the problem once it happens.

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