Internet audience, mass texting making school bullies more violent

Wellington, March 24 : A new documentary on bullying suggests that mass texting on cellular phones and internet audience are making school bullies more violent.

'Fight for Fame' also suggests that schools are overprotective about their strategies for dealing with bullying.

Given the exaggeration the schools make about their effectiveness in dealing with bullying, it is really very difficult for parents to realise the extent of the problem, the report reveals.

The documentary says that an increased SMSing and internet sites like Bebo and YouTube were putting conflicts between students in the public domain, building tension, and encouraging retribution.

It features reporter Paul Hobbs as saying that pupils were getting entangled in fights to keep their reputation intact.

"Because it's a public domain it's out there, so you get shamed," stuff.co.nz quoted Hobbs as saying.

The reporter also said that, though the Education Review Office did not keep statistics on bullying, there existed anecdotal reports suggesting that bullying had become more extreme and violent.

ANI