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Every day, some 17 million kids in America between the ages of 12 and 17 are talking to each other by e-mailing, instant messaging, text messaging and posting messages online. And the conversation is pretty much nonstop. Today's technology makes it easy to be in constant touch. It has also given the issue of bullying a whole new creepy twist.

"Calling someone a name in the hallway is significantly different from posting that name on a blog for all to see," says Kimberly Varney Chandler '91, a school guidance counselor who has seen a dramatic change in harassment in recent years. "The consequences of posting a photo on a web page or sending a nasty text message are so much greater, and students don't always see that beforehand."

The anonymous online world is an easy place to tease and taunt. Imagine being 14 and declared the winner of an online poll to "Pick the nerdiest kid in algebra" or "Name the ugliest freshman girl." Another guidance counselor who is a UNH alumnus (and asked to remain anonymous) remembers a young man who threatened to post nude photos of his girlfriend on the Internet if she broke up with him--and then followed through with his threat.

The long-term effects of cyberbullying can be devastating, say experts, because with so much access to computers and cell phones, there's no escape. Even worse, lies and rumors can follow a person for years, easily accessed by anyone who does a search for the victim's name--from college admissions officers to potential employers. And the problem has been increasing dramatically in recent years: a 2006 study conducted by UNH for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children found that online bullying rose more than 50 percent between 2000 and 2006.

In rare instances, cyberbullying can have tragic consequences. In a case that has attracted national attention, 13-year-old Megan Meier of Dardenne Prairie, Mo., committed suicide after a young man with whom she thought she was establishing a romantic relationship on MySpace suddenly turned against her with cruel and offensive messages. In a bizarre twist, the young man turned out to be a fabrication, created by a former friend of Megan's, who was reportedly assisted in the hoax by her mother.

While high-tech bullying is more complex and, typically, more far-reaching than traditional bullying, the root of the problem involves some of the same basic issues: insensitivity and ignorance, lack of parental awareness and complete lack of understanding on the part of the kids involved. "They often don't realize that they are exposing themselves not only to sexual predators but to their peers," says Chandler. The fallout could be painful and embarrassing for years to come, a long-lasting reminder that hitting the "send" key can be risky. —K.T.H.

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