SMS and Bullying

Text Message Torment Ends in Tragedy - Nov 30 2003

Helen Algar believes her teenage son died after being on the receiving end of a silent but potent form of bullying - text messaging. She talked to Sue Bramwell from the Sunday Star Times.

"Some time that night he made and received a number of text messages that caused him to leave the house and go to the top of that cliff. My son is dead and those text messages were a significant factor in that. Text messaging can be a potent weapon."

Bullying by SMS is a serious concern and some countries, like the UK, have officially taken measures to put an end to such behaviour. The Department of Education and Skills issued a guidance on bullying in school last September, recommending that students caught bullying be expelled.

A previous trajic incidence occured in Norway in 2001, where a young man committed suicide after receiving a threatening SMS saying: "You will die this year. We know where you live". He was suffering from a depression.

Text Blocking to Stop SMS Bullies - Oct 1 2003

A new service for mobile phone operators could give children the power to stop unwanted text message from bullies, according to the BBC .

The service, called ¥Intelligent SMS Centreª, enables children who get threatening text messages tp be able to log the mobile number of the sender with their mobile operator. The system works in a similar way to anti-spam e-mail software, allowing the operator to identify the caller and block further calls.

Nils Granath, product director of Swiss based Sicap, who offers the service, interviewed by the BBC, added - which is sure to horrify kids: "The next stage planned for the system is a parental monitoring service which means parents would be sent a copy of every text message their child sends".

The Other Side of SMS: Stalking via Indecent Messages, Threats

With the increase in mobile phone users, the menace of sending vulgar or threatening messages via the SMS is on the rise, reports Express India. The senders shield behind almost-assured anonymity because some cellphone companies are reluctant to reveal the identity of clients, fearing loss of business

The harrowing time faced by a woman journalist of this Express India last week is a case in point. The scores of suggestive SMSÌ in the span of a week were being sent by a customer of BPL Mobile.

Her efforts to get the name and address of the sender from the cellphone company fell through. Even after a complaint was lodged with the Cantonment Police Station, the company officials refused to co-operate.

Incidence of threatening behaviour and bullying by SMS has been reported elsewhere around the world, but usually involving children. In The Lothians (Scotland), text messages now account for more than half of the threats of violence or intimidation reported to the police.