A story in The Eagle Tribune is drawing attention to a recently growing problem among students. A "bullying incident" capture on video by a North Andover student is under police investigation. The incident involving two seven graders, and captured by another student, occurred off school grounds back in November and just recent brought attention to school officials. The video was posted on Facebook and YouTube, but has now been recently taken off the websites. There is now a possibility that criminal charges - including assault and battery - will be filed, depending on the investigation.
This video is the latest example of internet bullying in Massachusetts, other stories related to this one have been popping up recently - a 15 year old female committing suicide because of bullying at school and online & internet videos of fights involving students in Lowell & Haverhill, MA. Clearly, this is becoming an issue among school systems and the dangers of bullying has grabed the attention of Beacon Hill lawmakers because there is now a push to write legislation that would help prevent it. Cyber bullying (as it has now been termed) is a form of teen abuse and is growing at a fast rate. I feel this type of bullying is occurring so rapidly because of technology. Children and teenagers now have direct access to electronics that can capture videos or photos and be posted to online websites immediately. The term cyber bullying also includes bullying & inflicting harm through text messages, instant messages and other forms of multimedia communication. Since this is not a face to face encounter, children and teenagers might be more apt to bully online because it isn't so personal and they may not realize the consequences can still be as harmful as school yard bullying. Massachusetts school administrators and parents needs to work together to help students understand what the consequences are.
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