CYBER-BULLYING is an ugly phenomenon which has changed the landscape of social interaction and yesterday at Charles Sturt University (CSU) the issue was put under the spotlight.
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Travelling all the way from Canada to discuss her findings into the serious issue that destroys lives was Dr France Bouthillier, who is director of Information Studies at McGill University.
Both a physical and virtual audience – who watched the lecture and asked questions via video link – were not short on concerns where social media sites like Facebook and Twitter were likened to war zones.
“The statistics show it on the rise,” Dr Bouthillier said of the problem where tactics such as cyber-stalking, outing, impersonating and internet polling were used. “The biggest barrier is silence.
“But banning is not the solution, it needs to be talked about – education, policy and legislation are the best weapons.”
Dr Bouthillier said it was important the issue was discussed because young people would still find ways to use the internet and technology was always developing.
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