Trial brings cyber bullying to forefront

A 2006 cyber bullying case that resulted with the suicide of a 13-year-old Missouri girl is back in the news again.

The case was in trial last week and caught my attention while I was surfing the Internet.

Megan Maier hanged herself in her closet after allegedly receiving cruel online messages from a fictitious boy, the Associated Press reported.

Lori Drew, 49, is blamed for working with her 13-year-old daughter and 18-year-old employee to create a fake profile on the social networking Web site MySpace, according to the AP.

Drew wanted to know what Maier was saying about her daughter, according to the AP.

The profile was made to appear that Maier was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans, according to the St. Charles Journal.

The case resulted tragically with Maier's death and reading about it made me want to learn more about Internet safety.

My daughter's only 2, but I feel it's never too early to prepare for her teenage years.

The Attorney General's Office provides online help because cyber bullying is a growing problem, agency spokesperson Kristin Alexander said.

Nearly one in six U.S. kids in sixth through tenth grades are bullied online, which comes to 3.2 million kids annually, she said.

Instant messaging and Web sites like MySpace and Facebook are great tools, but are also weapons for spreading gossip, she said.

The technology that's available now makes it infinitely easier to harm someone in a way that's anonymous, she said.

But the damage doesn't just involve calling someone mean names.

Photos can be doctored and people can say they're someone else.

"It's especially important for parents to talk to their kids about how to use the Internet," she said.

She said she heard of a case where students used cellphones to take nude photos of other kids in a locker room.

"If you're a kid and someone is saying mean things about you online or posting inappropriate photos, don't be quiet about it," Alexander said. "Stand up for yourself and talk to your parents."

And parents should call the police if they feel their kids are unsafe, she added.

Your Internet service provider or cellphone company should also know about the problem.

The state Attorney General's Office has a Web site with tips on Internet safety, http://atg.wa.gov/InternetSafety/BullyingOnline.aspx.

Alexander also recommended the Ad Council's Web site, http://www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=42, and Netsmartz, http://www.netsmartz.org/.

Lynne Lynch is the Columbia Basin Herald's business and agriculture reporter. As a proud parent, she took the time to learn more about the Internet and protecting her daughter.