I felt tempted to use the "post anonymously" ticky, since when has this been a new problem.

It's well known that if a couple have mucky pictures of one or other (mucky video tapes/dvds/files even) it will at the point of a brakeup go public. It will probably go public when the boyfriend has a bunch of drunken mates around too.

Anyone watched trainspotting? The Pam Am video? Paris Hilton?

Tshhh spend money on something useful for Gods sake.

"Mishna says she sees a trend for the traditional victims of bullying - the computer geeks - to turn the tables in the online world."

As a geek who suffered quite a bit at the hands of the rugby jocks in high school, i definitely approve of this new development...

..The geek *shall* inherit the earth... ;)

How do you force someone to strip in front of a webcam?

"Take you clothes off!"

"No."

"I'll come round your house and make you do it, then. Give me half an hour to cycle round."

You can also block people, as I have discovered when sending pictures of my knob to teenage girls on the internet.

The Year is 1995, I'm 12 years old and let loose with my first scanner, a comprimising photo of a former friend and a 'mail to all' email system.

Nearly 12 years later they have yet to re enable the school email system ;)

Pah, but school sucked later on after that :(

we're talking about *kids* having semi nude pictures of themselves over the net, and being displayed to his/her peer group for no other reason than the pleasure the bully gets from the humilliation.

The younger the individual involved, the worse it gets, in most duristictions, owning (semi) nude pictures of minors is considered a sex crime (child porn), and the *maximum* age the survey covered was 18.

and here you are in the comments effectively saying "So?"

yes, i acknowledge that amongst adults, this might be par for the course, but would you want topless pics of your 14 year old daughter bandded about her school?

Thought not.

This is a complete waste of times. You shouldn't feel pity for people who feel they were "forced" to strip down in front of their webcams by someone who chatted with them.

What's different from normal bullying here is that the victim wasn't physically forced to do anything. She could just have said no and be off with it. The problem here isn't online bullying, it's lack of self-esteem, and that's what should be targetted. Stop wasting money on pointless researches and help the kids instead of casually observing what happens.

so, steps are:

Step1: geek uses well known charm and interpersonal skills to persuade girl to send compromising photo

...

hmm... spot a flaw in the geek revolution...

...just call them up, start reciting all the IEEE 802.11 standards WITH comments or something equally inspiring, and their clothes will be off in no time because they'll be stuffing it in their ears (and no, they won't be hanging up, that takes mental facilities (like awareness of the physical world) never seen in the presence of Standards). THEN activate webcam and Bob's your uncle. :-D

Cheers

So let me understand this.

Someone takes off their clothes on a web-cam under "duress" (which I have serious doubts about) and they are calling it cyberbullying?. (the latest buzzword in a long line of "we must protect the children" blurbs that have little to do with protecting the children and more for seeking an agenda.

I'm sorry, but that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of.

And as for the examples of our well known celeb "sex tapes" that have been "released". I'm sorry, but if you appear on a such a tape, you (both man and woman) run the risk exposure. (How many "tell all" books by various groupies and other such women who actually say "hey I had sex with these people" without regard of their current lives etc.. (ex: http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/news/article/1157146855378?packedargs=aid%3D1157146855378%26suffix%3DArticleController ) Not to mention that personally I think more of them are leaked to keep their names in the press for publicity sake and shock value. (as the old adage goes, even bad press is still press (or words to that effect)

So lets just call it what it is.. indiscriminate behaviour without regard of thought or feeling. (something that both genders do with equal measure and for various reasons). but its not "cyberbullying".