cyberbullies

Two studies released this week shed some light on the issue of bullying and, by implication, cyberbullying. One found that bullying is actually on the decline while the other determined that talking with an adult or a friend was most likely to "make things better."

Both of these studies were about physical bullying, but there is a very strong link between bullying in the "real world" and cyberbullying. Though there are cases of teens using the Internet or cell phones to harass or bully people they've never met, most cyberbullying cases involve kids who know … Read more

Officials in Massachusetts believe there's been another deadly case of cyberbullying in the apparent suicide of 15-year-old Phoebe Prince of South Hadley, Mass.

Prince moved last year to the area from Ireland. While making the transition to a new town and a new country, Prince, officials believe, became the target of intense cyber-bullying, which may have contributed to her apparent suicide.

Prince was found dead in her South Hadley home on January 14, just days before a big school dance.

Read more of "Officials: Suicidal teen was cyberbullied" at CBSNews.com.

A study released Wednesday by the Girl Scouts shows that young people report they take fewer risks and treat each other better than their counterparts of a generation ago.

The report, called "Good Intentions: The Beliefs and Values of Teens and Tweens Today," is based on a national study conducted by the Girl Scout Research Institute and Harris Interactive. It's based on research conducted with 3,263 students from 3rd to 12th grade from throughout the U.S. The sample included youth in and out of scouting.

With some exceptions, the survey is identical to one carried … Read more

CNET Audiophiliac Steve Guttenberg joins The 404 Podcast for a special Friday episode all about the art of music appreciation. We love having Steve on the show because he actually comes prepared with topics of discussion, and today he launches right into a thoughtful point about how music has become background filler for the digital generation.

It might be because MP3s and digital audio watered down the listening experience compared with putting a needle on a record, but we suspect the current generation is so used to hearing overproduced music with pounding bass and autotuned vocals that they wouldn't recognize musical talent if it were performed live in front of them. Kids these days, I swear.

After we're done complaining about people younger than us, we address the ongoing prevalence of digital abuse. Cyberbullying took an ugly turn earlier this year when 13-year-old Megan Meier took her own life over a fake MySpace profile. Tragedy struck again in the form of another 13-year-old, Hope Witsell, who committed suicide after finding herself the subject of constant taunting and abuse over a nude picture message that made its way around her school. As a tech podcast, we also examine the role that text messages and cell phones play in the hands of young people and how parents can protect their kids from digital abuse.

It's not all sad news on today's show, though. We can always depend on Steve to bring the most random and hilarious anecdotes, and be sure to listen to his uplifting message at the end of the show to start your weekend off right. See you back here on Monday!

Is posting a phony, sexually suggestive ad online about another person free speech, an inappropriate prank, or a felony? That's what the Missouri court system will decide.

A cyberbullying case in Saint Charles County, Missouri, will test a year-old state law on electronic harassment. The law makes it a felony for someone 21 years or older to communicate with someone 17 years or younger by phone or electronic means in order to recklessly frighten, intimidate, or cause emotional distress to that person.

Elizabeth Thrasher, 40, allegedly posted a photo and personal contact details of a teenage girl in the … Read more

In a week in which Google was ordered to reveal the identity of the "Skanks in NYC" blogger who may have defamed model Liskula Cohen, a landmark judgment was also reportedly reached in the United Kingdom.

In Worcester Magistrates Court of England, an 18-year-old woman was allegedly sent to three months in a young-offenders institute after being found guilty of posting death threats on Facebook, according to the Daily Mail. It's thought to be the country's first jail sentence for cyberbullying.

The young defendant allegedly wrote on her Facebook page that she would kill another young … Read more

After the 2006 suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier, the victim of an Internet hoax, Missouri is taking cyberbullying very seriously.

Elizabeth Thrasher now has the dubious honor of being the first person charged with the felony of cyberbullying under a new Missouri state law.

According to a story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Tuesday, Thrasher is accused of posting a photo of a teenage girl, along with personal information about her, in the "Casual Encounters" section of Craigslist.

Prosecutors in the case said that the 40-year-old Thrasher posted the girl's picture, e-mail address, and cell phone … Read more

The first things you need to know about cyberbullying are that it's not an epidemic and it's not killing our children. Yes, it's probably one of the more widespread youth risks on the Internet and yes there are some well publicized cases of cyberbullying victims who have committed suicide, but let's look at this in context.

Bullying has always been a problem among adolescents and, sadly, so has suicide. In the few known cases of suicide after cyberbullying, there are other contributing factors. That's not to diminish the tragedy or suggest that the cyberbullying didn'… Read more

An Internet safety study (PDF) just released by Cox Communications shows that teens may be a bit more safety conscious than previously thought.

The survey, which was done by Harris Interactive, asked 655 13- to 18-year-olds about their online and cell phone behavior, specifically addressing issues of cyberbullying and sexting. The study was in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and "America's Most Wanted Host" John Walsh.

For the purposes of the study, cyberbullying was defined as "harassment, embarrassment, or threats online or by text message," while sexting referred to "… Read more