Cyberbullying Article

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1208147/First-cyberbully-jailed-Facebook-death-threats.html

This article was featured in the Daily Mail on the 21st of August 2009. It provides information on the negative effects of social networking sites but mainly focuses on the case of Keely Houghton, the first cyberbully to recieve a prison sentence.

Keely Houghton did not originally begin her harrasment of victim Emily Moore through the medium of the internet, but at first launched a campaign emotional and physical harrasment for their shared four school years. Houghton was previously convicted of both criminal damage and assault in relation to her bullying of Moore. However it was a pattern of vicous comments which Houghton left on her social networking site's profile that lead to her sentence of three months in a young offenders institution.

While there have been other cases of convictions for cyberstalking and harrassment via the internet but this article makes the point that Houghton is considered the first person to be jailed for cyberbullying. The article continues to describe other cases that have negative outcomes due to misuse of the internet. An example offered is Megan Gillian, a 15 year old who committed suicide after receiving abuse through a social networking site. Emma Jane Cross from anti bullying campaign Beatbullying is quoted as condeming cyberbullying to be often more harmful than typical bullying. Other negative effects of social networking sites on teengagers are offered, such as a growing tendency of teenagers to pursue "transient relationships" rather than quality relationships. This is mainly thought to have grown from a desire to have a high number of friends on such social networking sites.

I found this article useful in comprehending the full extent of both cyberbullying and social networking sites. The article continues to list other cases of misuse of social networking sites and the effects this has such as someone losing their job. All of these points remain valid and significant in how the internet should be managed, however I found that journalist Luke Salked focused entirely on negative aspects of the internet and excluded all positives in his evalution of social networking sites. This is unsurprising, coming from an article which features the first cyberbully to be jailed, but it would have been helpful to recieve a full overview of the topic.

Overall though a very good article :)