ESPERANCE Police say that cyber bullying has become such a problem in Esperance that there are times when they are dealing with its ramifications on an almost daily basis.
“There is a huge increase in people using social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter and writing rude or threatening messages on people’s pages,” Esperance Police Acting Senior Sergeant, Duncan Swadkins said.
“We get a lot of calls, from mainly young girls, wanting us to do something because someone has become abusive or bullying and written something nasty about them in Facebook or Twitter.
“What we notice is that sometimes these messages are written at 1am or 4am and you have to wonder why they are online at that time of night.
“Parents have to start taking responsibility for monitoring their children’s computer usage.”
Snr Sgt Swadkins said there are times when police receive two to three complaints a week, but at other times, reports are made on a daily basis.
“These fights seem to start at school and then it’s taken home and continued online,” he said
“It can range from just spreading gossip to being threatening or bullying.
“Telling someone, ‘I am following you’ is a threat.
“People need to realise that they really should only add someone as a friend, if they do know that person.
“Otherwise, what ends up happening is that if things turn sour, they get 300-400 threats from this person and have no way of knowing who they really are.”
It is an offence to use telecommunications (mobile phones or the internet) to threaten, intimidate or harass people.
“There are three offences which are viewed very seriously by the law,” Snr Sgt Swadkins said.
“They are stalking, threats to injure and use carriage to menace or harass.”
Police also request that if anyone does make a complaint, it is necessary not to remain anonymous as complaints cannot be followed up unless police know who they need to talk to.
Steps to follow to lessen the likelihood of being bullied include:
1. Do not add anyone you don’t know to your list of friends.
2. If someone does bully you, block them and remove them from your friends list so they no longer have access to your page.
3. Set your security settings to a level which gives you maximum protection.
A survey conducted by Girl Guides Australia revealed that more than two-thirds of girls under 10 had experienced bullying.
The survey suggested some basic steps for anyone who is subjected to cyber bullying, and their parents:
1. Don’t answer bullying texts or posts.
2. Block those ‘friends’ who are involved.
3. Save any messages and images as proof of the bullying - if action needs to be taken against the offenders, evidence will then be available.
4. Report cyber bullying to someone you trust.
5. Reassure anyone who has been bullied, that you love and support them and you will help them.
Email a friend