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With the invention of the internet communication has been forever changed from the way things were done even 15 years ago. Along with technology, also the nature of bullying amongst children and teenagers has changed. Before, the school bully, or a gang of bullies, used to torture their subjects by beating them up at school, or oppress them emotionally by spreading vicious rumors, or name calling. The internet has provided a very easy access to bullying, which has made it hard on the ones suffering from it. This is because bullies can now take to blogs, forums, and social networking sites to torture their victims. This type of bullying is now known as cyberbullying.

With the invention of the internet the way we communicate has been forever changed from the way things were done even 15 years ago. Along with technology, also the nature of bullying amongst children and teenagers has changed. Before, the school bully, or a gang of bullies, used to torture their subjects by beating them up at school, or terrorise them emotionally by spreading vicious rumors, or name calling. The internet has provided a very easy access to bullying, which has made it hard on the ones suffering from it. This is because bullies can now take to blogs, forums, and social networking sites to torture their victims. This type of bullying is now known as cyberbullying.

The cyberbully will spread horrible rumors, make fun of people, and speak of people in offensive words. They will also engage in "trolling", which means going to chat rooms and forums to look for people to antagonise. "Flaming" is another way of cyberbullying by spreading angry and hateful post on forums and propagating anger on chat rooms. The bottom line is that just like in person, the cyberbully is angry. The cyberbully is full of rage and hatred, and is looking to project his or her anger onto others.

The target of the cyberbully has most of the time done nothing wrong to make the cyberbully angry. The bully is simply insecure, angry, and needs a target. Most of the time others join in in the fear of otherwise becoming bullied themselves.

The issue for parents is that they think that just because their child is in the house, and on the computer, the child is safe. Most parents don't think of protecting their kids online as a form of child safety, but it's extremely important. Parents need to treat online protection as a serious form of child safety. What parents can do to protect their kids from cyberbullying is first to make sure that they are aware of every website that their kid visits. Second, they need to enable themselves to view what chat rooms their kids are participating in, and what is being typed. Third, if their kids are the victims of cyberbullying, the parents need to take that information to the police. The police understand, and know how to use the internet to detect any threats against child safety.

Children can't protect themselves against all threats. Local authorities, parents, and the internet providers all need to work together to ensure child safety online. Cyberbullying is a serious issue with serious consequences. It's a heartbreaking fact that children and teenagers are committing suicide because of cyberbullying. Luckily, cyberbullying is now a crime, and the criminals must be pursued aggressively as a means of providing child safety online.