Now that we are in the twenty-first century the concept of bullying has been taken to a whole new level.
As kids become more technologically savvy some are using electronic means to bully others.
"With cyber bullying it's sometimes easier to be a bully if it's just sending a text message or if you're sending an e-mail because you are not face to face with the person," says Duluth Family Therapist Dustin Holden.
More than 40-percent of kids admitted to having been bullied online.
This behavior most commonly occurs when children aren't being monitored.
"Bullying happens much else when there is less parental supervision and at school bullying tends to happen at recess or lunch before school or after school when there isn't that direct supervision or that direct guidance," says Holden.
If a child is being cyber bullied they are advised to tell an adult, don't erase the messages, and never agree to get together with anyone you meet online.
To prevent this behavior, as school gets back in session, Denfeld is launching a new internet safety education curriculum called i-safe.
"Continuous review of our curriculum is also very important so education is the key to create awareness to all of these issues," says Assistant Superintendent of the Duluth Public School District Joe Hill.
The Duluth School District has also developed a student e-mail monitoring system.
"If it has words, bullying type words or inappropriate words in general then we'll send that e-mail to a section where an administer has to review it," says Media Techonolgy Coordinator Keith Anderson.
There is also a software monitoring device for parents, called PC Pandora.
The system works like a TiVo for your PC and records all the content on your child's computer so you can see what they're doing online.
For more information on this device log on to www.pcpandora.com.
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