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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.
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