bullying

Internet raises big bucks for bullied bus monitor

Update 2:20 p.m. PT: Since this story was initially published, the fund for Karen Klein has skyrocketed. It is now well past $300,000 and continues to grow. The fundraiser is set to continue for a month.

(CBS News) Karen Klein wasn't having the best of days when she was recently bullied by a bus full of students from Greece, N.Y.

The middle school students teased, taunted and threatened the 68-year-old school bus monitor. The incident was caught on video, posted on YouTube, and instantly went viral -- outraging many viewers.

The students, between ages 12 … Read more

The 404 1,019: Where we're moving right along (podcast)

Why are gay men worth more to advertisers on Facebook? We'll begin today's show with a story on PC Pro that clarifies how social networks sell your information as part of a package demographic that advertisers can use to target specific markets.

We'll also highlight the similarities between Android phones and condoms, notably the criteria they share for nomenclature that includes seven characteristics -- "distinctive," "short," "appropriate," "easy to spell and pronounce," "likable," "extendable," and "protectable."

Other stories of the day include a high school senior getting expelled for dropping several F-words in a Twitter post supposedly crafted on campus, HBO Go hitting Xbox Live tomorrow, another chapter in the "Ninja Turtles" saga, and The Weinstein Company refusing the MPAA's R Rating for the movie "Bully."… Read more

Mostly good news about kids online, study finds

A report from the University of New Hampshire's Crimes against Children Research Center shows a significant decrease in "unwanted online sexual solicitation" as well as "unwanted exposure to pornography" in recent years among children ages 10 to 17 years old. There was a small increase in online harassment.

Nine percent of respondents reported getting an unwanted sexual solicitation in 2010, compared with 13 percent in 2005 and 19 percent in 2000 -- a steady decrease. The percentage of youth who reported an unwanted exposure to pornography was 23 percent in 2010, down from 34 percent … Read more

Online bullying: Still way less common than in real life

A new study entitled Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Networks confirms much of what we already know about cyberbullying. Most kids aren't bullied and most kids don't bully either online or off.

In fact, the study--conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project for the Family Online Safety Institute and Cable in the Classroom--concluded that "[m]ost American teens who use social media say that in their experience, people their age are mostly kind to one another on social network sites." Nearly seven in ten (69 percent) of teens said that peers are mostly … Read more

Cyberbullying 101: Fact vs. fiction (podcast)

A great deal has been said and written about cyberbullying, but not all of it is true. As Cyberbullying Research Center co-director Justin Patchin said in an interview recently, it's "a concern that we need to take very seriously," but "it's certainly not an epidemic."

Cyberbullying, said Patchin, is "bullying behaviors carried out using or facilitated by technology," which includes "a lot of the same kind of things we see at school and in neighborhoods, such as harassment or disrespecting or rumors or gossip that are now being carried out online.&… Read more

The 404 785: Where it's our so-called MemeMolly (podcast)

The 404 Digest for Episode 785

Our guest today is MemeMolly, who gives us an update on the latest memes, Internet culture, and why nobody can stand the word "viral." Add Molly on Twitter and follow her Tumblr.

Top Dog: one is tough, the other is a dog. Where are they now, featuring Star Wars Kid and Numa Numa Guy? Is Cathymay15 a troll, a genius, or another victim of online bullying? EU proposes right to be forgotten online.… Read more

Time to take the 'cyber' out of cyberbullying

We don't call it "pencil bullying" when someone uses a wooden stick with lead inside to write someone a threatening note. When a person shakes her fist in front of someone's face, we don't call it "fist bullying." And when kids don't let other kids sit at their lunch table, we don't call it "table bullying."

Yet when someone uses a cell phone or the Web to harass, demean, defame, or annoy another person, we give it the special name "cyberbullying."

I was reminded of this when … Read more

Study: 1 in 4 Spanish teens cyberbullied this year

A new report out of the University of Valencia in Spain finds that roughly one in four teens studied have been bullied by cell phone and/or the Internet at some point over the past year.

While these findings may sound reasonable, it is bound to raise eyebrows as it comes on the heels of a much larger, 25-country European Union study called EU Kids Online that reports the European cyberbullying average far lower, at 5 percent, with Spain being even slightly below that average.

The discrepancy could be the result of differences in how cyberbullying itself is defined. In … Read more

The 404 728: Where we pet it on its head (podcast)

The Golden Globe nominations were released this morning, and though "The King's Speech" received the most nominations, "The Social Network" was also honored for Best Picture--Drama, Best Actor (Jesse Eisenberg), Best Supporting Actor (Andrew Garfield), Best Director (David Fincher), Best Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin), and Best Original Score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross). We saw the movie when it first came out, but CNET's social-media reporter Caroline McCarthy knows much more about the film, so we're psyched to have her on the show today!

Caroline and Jeff are both addicted to TV shows like "Boardwalk Empire," "30 Rock," and "Mad Men," which share Best TV nominations for a drama, musical, or comedy, but the three of us are confused about the appearance of "The Walking Dead," a show that the Internet seems to collectively hate for its departure from the original graphic-novel storyline.

Along with the rest of the discoveries in Zeitgeist 2010, Google has also shared the "fastest-falling" list of searches in 2010. In other words, these are the search terms that enjoyed popularity in 2009 but failed to keep up the momentum this year.

The list includes swine flu, Circuit City, Myspace Layouts, and Michael Jackson, despite the release of a new album in December.

Check out this graphic of the world according to Facebook. Facebook intern Paul Butler wondered how to show an accurate representation of Facebook's popularity across the globe, and his idea to visualize Facebook "Internet" friendships on a map actually shows the extent of real human relationships.

Interestingly enough, the picture reveals that even Argentina, Southeast Asia, and South Africa have a strong Facebook presence, while a significant portion of China and Russia are missing due to Web censorship.

Girls geeks are uniting in support of a young Star Wars fan who was bullied by classmates after choosing a Star Wars water bottle and matching backpack for school. Her mom wrote a heartfelt blog asking female Star Wars fans to send messages and comments to show Katie that plenty of women appreciate Star Wars, and within days the post received more than 1,000 messages of support.

With all the attention on bullying these days, both online and in person, it's important to remind young people that it's great to be different...and that nerds make more money.

Episode 728 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more