IT SOUNDS like a helpful dating website to link single Wagga people.
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But in reality it is a forum for teenagers to post derogatory and vicious rumours about each other.
A new Facebook page has been set up called Wagga Crushes, and it has parents, teachers and the police up in arms.
Leanne Hesketh has five children under the age of 20 and had the Facebook page brought to her attention by a friend and school teacher yesterday.
“It’s atrocious,” Mrs Hesketh said.
“As soon as I came across it I jumped on to see if any of my kids or anyone I know was using the page.
“Luckily they haven’t seen it, and my youngest one doesn’t have Facebook.
“It’s disgusting what the kids say on there.”
The page was brought to the attention of Wagga police yesterday and Wagga Crushes was taken down shortly afterwards by Facebook.
Wagga Local Area Command crime manager Detective Inspector Rod Smith said it is hard for police to control cyber bullying, largely due to the anonymity of the users.
“We can’t do much about it, other than ask (Facebook) to shut it down,” he said.
“Schools do a fair bit to educate the students on social media, and we have a school liaison officer who goes and talks to the kids about this sort of thing.
“But unfortunately you will still have a small percentage of kids who use it to bully and harass.”
Detective Inspector Smith said cases of cyber bullying are likely to grow as young people learn more about how to get around social media outlets.
“The days are gone when kids went home after school and the communication ended,” he said.
“This should be a reminder to parents that bedrooms are no place to have computers and phones.”
Mrs Hesketh agreed schools and police have limited power over the use of such sites, and hopes to alert other parents to the dangers of social media.
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