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School bullying is an age-old problem, one that has plagued hallways and playgrounds for decades. But with the ever evolving use of technology, the lines of the schoolyard battlefield have been redrawn.
If Mitchell High School senior Sean Moore is on the computer, it is safe to assume he is logged into both Facebook and Myspace.
"I don't think I know any student that doesn't have (a Facebook or Myspace page)," Moore said.
In theory both sites are meant to connect friends, but in reality, they could be creating bullies.
"An example of the harassment is actually someone I know posted a bulletin about me because I wouldn't date them," Moore said. "So they posted on here that I was gay and watch out in the locker room -- you know who's hiding."
It is not that spreading lies or nasty rumors is anything new among teens, but in today's world all it takes is a click of a mouse to share an embarrassing photo or private note with millions of strangers.
"It happens all the time," said Moore. "It's just how bad it happens."
Worse yet, with the infinite memory of cyber space, the sting of cyber bullying can linger a lot longer. Moore remembered this past year there was a picture taken of someone as they were getting ready for homecoming, then somebody put words with it before sending that out.
Detective David Pratt said he has seen students take it a step further by altering photos and even sending pornographic pictures that claim to be classmates.
"The girl who sent it sent it to all her buddies and said hey this is so and so. Tell everybody it's so and so," Pratt said.
But if there has been any benefit, the Internet leaves a trail of evidence for police.
"We've heard about cases around the country (of people) who've committed suicide for online cyber bullying," said the detective.
One trail led a Missouri woman in front of a federal grand jury. She is accused of taking part in an Internet hoax where she created a fake account pretending to be a 16-year-old boy interested in a 13-year-old girl. After the two started communicating, the girl started receiving cruel messages before she then killed herself.
Beyond just being perverse humor, Pratt said that in an age where the number of Myspace friends can dictate your popularity, he worries kids are valuing the quantity of their relationships over quality.
"As a result of the quantity of these relationships, maybe they're not as important to them and maybe when there's a conflict they don't engage face to face to work through the issues," Pratt said. "They resolve conflict by firing out a negative text message."
So in the end the things that connect us seem to be connecting us less and less every day.
