How about what do you think of people who pick on others online? – Janet

I consider it to still be a form of bullying. The internet opens up a whole world of possibilities to people, but it also opens up a new playground for kids to take to bullying their peers. The ability to open a new email account in the matter of moments is all a child needs to create a new msn identity and then add one of their classmates in order to verbally harass them. The problem with cyber-bullying is that children are still reluctant to tell parents like they are in the classroom because they’re scared of what will happen if they tell. Will it get worse? Will everyone else dislike them? Will they get even further excluded?

As someone who used to get bullied in middle school, I know it’s hard to come forward and to tell an adult about it, even though that’s what you’re told to do if you are being bullied. Kids can be really harsh. They can be every bit as vindictive, callous and horrible as adults can be. Boys go for physical harm, they have fights and punching and kicking. Girls? Well, as much as I had to sound sexist, girls verbally harass and go for the emotional jugular. They find something that you’re insecure about and exploit it until you’re as quiet as a mouse.

People who pick on others online, and I have done this myself before in the past (although I try my best to no longer do this), are every bit as bad as the ones that do it offline. Just because it’s done online, just because they can hide behind a fake name and a newly made email account doesn’t mean shit. Cyber-bullies are just like bullies offline, only they’re worse because they hide behind a persona that they make for themselves or they just hide behind their attitude that they so carefully pull off in order to not show how they really feel. Bullies, on and off line, are just as insecure as everyone else. Possibly even more.

[If you would still like to challenge me, just add your comment here.]