Cyberbullying

Introduction

Cyberbullying is a relatively new phenomenon. So new in fact that many in the general public do not know what it entails. Though researchers and law enforcement professionals have adopted a wide array of definitions, cyber bullying is most generally defined as any course of conduct that utilizes electronic communication devices to knowingly and willingly commit any of the following acts on two or more occasions, with no legitimate purpose:

contact or attempt to contact someone after being requested by that person to desist from contacting them;

persistently harass, torment, or terrorize someone;

steal or attempt to steal someone's identity or information about that person, harming that person;

make unwanted and unwarranted sexual advances toward someone; and/or

communicate violent intentions or threaten to cause physical injury to someone.

In this context, electronic communication devices include all devices that can electronically transmit text, images, or sound from one location to another through wires or via electromagnetic waves. This includes but is not limited to computers, cellular phones, and personal digital assistants (PDAs).

History of Cyberbullying

The birth and continued development of cyber-stalking has closely coincided with advancements in technology. Many electronic devices, such as cellular phones, PDAs, and computers, have become staples in everyday life. Their speed, ease of use, and capabilities—in addition to their increasing affordability—have made them both widely popular and frequently used. Unfortunately, those same features, along with the relative anonymity of the Internet, have made many of these devices key tools for cyber bullies. Though it is impossible to pinpoint the exact date cyber bullying became an actual phenomenon, both the Internet and mobile communication devices, such as cell phones, were adapted for widespread public use in the early 1990s. Conservatively, the birth of cyber-stalking can be traced to that era (D'Ovidio, 10).

Throughout the mid- and late 1990s, the number of cyber bullying incidents is believed to have increased dramatically, with cyber bullying developing into a large-scale problem by the turn of the 21st century. Research indicates that the numbers of reported and nonreported cyber bullying incidents have steadily increased since the beginning of the 21st century. Though cyber bullying has become an ever-increasing problem, there is still relatively little public knowledge regarding the extent or even the existence of cyber bullying. In fact, the bulk of the public's perception of cyber bullying actually stems from very specific subcategories of cybercrime that is often associated with cyber bullying, such as cyber bullying and identity theft. Further, there has been only a minimal amount of legislative and law enforcement progress in attempting to control cyber bullying.

Cyberbullying Versus Traditional Stalking

There has been a growing debate between members of the academic, law enforcement, and political communities as to the true nature of cyber bullying. On one side of the debate, cyber bullying is considered merely a component of the larger phenomenon of traditional stalking (also referred to as physical or offline stalking). According to this argument, the Internet, computers, and/or mobile communication devices are simply additional tools utilized by stalkers. On the other side of the debate, it ...