Protecting our children online

The shocking deaths of several young schoolgirls recently, allegedly as a result of cyber-bullying, will have struck fear into the hearts of parents everywhere. Erin Gallagher's death is the second apparent suicide linked to cyber-bullying in a matter of weeks. The 13-year-old Co Donegal girl was found dead after telling friends on a controversial website that she was considering killing herself after she was subjected to a bullying campaign. Several weeks previously, 15-year-old Ciara Pugsley, from Co Leitrim, took her own life after being bullied online. Cyber-bullying has become a phenomenon of our times in a world that is instantly connected through new technology, but it is a far more malevolent entity than more traditional forms of bullying which have taken place in playgrounds since children first went to school. On the particular social networking site at the centre of the current storm, ask.fm, tormentors can remain anonymous as they post comments, and this is a particular concern. Today, bullies don't just stalk the corridors and classrooms of school buildings - they have many different means of communication open to them, with access to Facebook and Twitter as well as sites like ask.fm. Smartphones with immediate internet access are omnipresent among teenagers. Those with bullying tendencies can operate with virtual anonymity and impunity to post what they like without being caught. The unfortunate reality today is that children as young as six or seven now have Facebook pages and many parents believe this is okay. A recent survey in the UK revealed that over half of all children did not tell their parents the truth about what they were doing online, so many parents are unaware of their youngsters' activities in this dangerous virtual world. Parents themselves and teachers have a crucial role to play in educating young people to be responsible when online in this all-pervasive cyber world. The impact of cyber- and text-bullying on its victims can be devastating, as has been demonstrated in recent weeks, and this is something that needs to be realised by all young people. Starting at primary school, children need to be taught to be responsible when using the internet in all its forms so that by the time they hit their teenage years, they know how to behave when online and how to stay safe. The founder of the advisory website for parents reassureme.com, David Girvan, said if we wait until the teenage years to teach children these things, "then we'll be fire-fighting forever". In the wake of Ciara Pugsley's death in Co Leitrim, ask.fm founder Mark Terebin reportedly admitted to RTE that there was a problem with cyber-bullying in social media, but claimed his organisation had only seen the problem in Ireland and the UK. However, it is clear this is a problem that is not simply confined to these islands as there have been many other cases linked to other social media sites in the United States and Canada. In Texas, for instance, teenagers have been learning that their state is serious about cracking down on bullying - not just in the classroom but also in cyberspace, where attacks range from sending cruel text messages to posting photos or videos on public internet sites. Psychologists there say bullying is a problem that has risen exponentially in the wireless age and legislation came into effect there this year requiring school districts to institute policies for dealing with cyber-bullying and to incorporate prevention into school codes of conduct. To be fair, many progressive schools in Ireland are also taking this step of trying to deal with this issue, but in the absence of specific legislation. Law enforcement agencies in Texas are certainly taking the issue seriously. This summer, they arrested two middle-school girls and charged them with third-degree felonies for allegedly creating a fake Facebook page in order to impersonate a girl whose reputation they allegedly wanted to harm. When such activities can, in some cases, lead to children taking their own lives, the time has come for this country's politicians to take the lead in keeping our children safe online. While the prevention of cyber-bullying must begin in the home, many other agencies also have a role to play, from healthcare providers to the gardai. The devastation that bullying can cause can be potentially catastrophic and it is unacceptable in modern society that young girls with their whole lives ahead of them have been hounded to their deaths by anonymous taunts. Everyone has a duty to act to prevent this ever lengthening list of suicides from getting any longer.