ONE of the sadder features of human nature is some people鈥檚 compulsion to put others down, either physically or mentally. Bullying can leave a devastating mark on the lives of those on the receiving end. The internet has created a new place for bullies to operate, especially among children, and it can be even nastier here than it is in the playground (see 鈥淭he rise of cyberbullying鈥�).
Online bullying ought to be easier to stamp out than the verbal kind, because there will be a log of any exchanges. In practice that doesn鈥檛 help, because many bullies hide behind anonymity. It鈥檚 easy to be anonymous on the web, with a false email or chatroom account or bogus profile on a social networking site.
Forcing people to reveal who they really are would stop some intimidation, but this route, followed by South Korea, creates a different problem. Being anonymous is a real plus for many people. Those who do not want to reveal aspects of their lives, such as their sexual orientation, can lead the life they choose as anonymous web users. For whistle-blowers or those fighting for freedom of expression, such as Chinese bloggers, anonymity is essential for them to operate at all. Balancing children鈥檚 safety against adults鈥� freedom is far from straightforward.
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Teaching children about the risks they face on the web is one vitally important defence. But there are other avenues to explore, too, such as requiring users of teen-oriented sites to identify themselves, or to have parental approval to post personal information. The scale of the problem will only escalate as more kids take their social lives online. It won鈥檛 be easy, but we need to begin a serious search for ways to protect them.
