Watch your child online
This isn't happening in Qatar (it happened in Canada) but what happened and the outcome could happen anywhere. A young girl recently committed suicide after years of online bullying.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Amanda+Todd+mother+joins+call+provincew...
Youth advocate Diane Sowden says a provincial strategy is needed to end the online sexual exploitation of children and the type of bullying that led Port Coquitlam teenager Amanda Todd to take her own life.
Sowden was joined in her call for a provincewide strategy by Amanda’s mother Carol as the two got together at the Todd home on Sunday.
Sowden has seen the effect of bullying on her own child and founded a lobby group, the Children of the Street Society, which is fighting to give parents and social agencies more power to intervene for bullied kids. Sowden first met Amanda’s mother in 2010 when Amanda was targeted by an online predator.
“If I have a child or parent who says this is what’s happening, I’ll phone the local RCMP or police in that community and if that officer doesn’t know how to deal with it, then that’s the end of it,” said Sowden, who says that’s just not good enough.
Sowden said the province needs a strategy that deals with all the issues involved, starting with prevention and including all the subsequent steps that could follow from intervention to investigation and convictions.
“Everyone is missing the point and they are looking at this as a bullying situation, which is what it developed into,” said Sowden. “How it started was a predator targeting an underage girl online and asking for images of her online and then he used it as a tool to blackmail her.
“We need a provincial strategy to deal with these issues. We have anti-bullying programs and they are needed. But how do you connect to the next level to intervene and keep the child safe and move to the next level?”
Carol said the photos and video collected by an online predator who convinced Amanda to flash on a webcam when she was 12 marked the start of her child’s ordeal. The suspected pedophile then emailed Amanda threatening to release the images unless she complied with his demands to post sexual videos of herself.
“The pictures on the Internet provided fuel for the bullying, which is why I went to Diane in the first place,” said Carol. “I would like to help so that it doesn’t happen to one more child.”
Both Sowden and Carol said online comments from people suggesting it could never happen to their kids are wrong.
“No one thinks this could actually happen to their child, but any child who is online is at risk no matter what their family background if they haven’t got the tools to keep themselves safe online,” said Sowden.
“This is not an isolated situation. Due to online technology, we have seen online sexual exploitation explode.”
Carol said Amanda’s friends from CABE, the Coquitlam Alternate Basic Education secondary school where Amanda was a student at the time of her death, have been devastated by her death.
“They loved her at CABE and today (CABE) teacher Leah Pells said they have offered to do anything they can to help me and to help keep Amanda’s memory alive,” said Carol
Over the past five years, child pornography offences in Canada have increased 900 per cent, Sowden said citing police statistics. They also show Canada ranks second in the world behind the United States in online hosting of child sexual abuse images.
Sowden said as well as children targeted by online predators, her organization has seen youth who have sent sexual photos to a boyfriend or girlfriend later exploited by those photos.
“There are cases where young girls and guys are sending pictures to each other – ‘for your eyes only.’ High school kids break up, feelings get hurt and then that picture is shared.
“That picture goes viral so fast and their life changes the minute that photo goes out.”
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To see a youtube video that the poor girl made about her situation click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM-0NAhGuAg
Apparently Anonymous has outed the 30 year old man who extorted Amanda for naked pictures:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/16/amanda-todd-bully-anonymous-suicide_n_1969792.html?utm_hp_ref=crime&ir=Crime
exactly so was the girl .
Baburao is so desperate to flash.
do u want me to flash at u ;o)
in this growing cybercrime, best be safe by avoiding posting any confidential photos
Take it easy monkey dont try to comprehend such things your tiny brain might explode.
but my question is if the schools dont have problems and encourage teenagers by gifting them balloons why is flashing such a big fuss
cyberbullying is a crime to some countries...
- Do parents actually foresee such problems happening to be able to educate their kids.
- How many parents are actually capable of educating their kids on such issues.
I think those are excellent questions Prism. And I think they are the root of the issue.
I know my parents never would have conceived of online grooming when I was a teenager, because they had no clue about the dangers of chat rooms, etc. They most certainly wouldn't have been able to talk to me about it, because I thought I knew far more about being online savvy than they did. I would have laughed at them. I think it was sheer luck that I wasn't groomed.
I have a hard time understanding online bullying, because social networks like facebook have only been around since I was in my mid-20's (past the bullying age). So while I will try and teach my son about the dangers of bullying, no doubt by the time he's a teenager there will be some new dimension to it that I won't understand.
While I usually not one to blame things like violent videogames and bullying on technology, I do think facebook and twitter, etc. has given teenagers a new way to bully that is quite dangerous. Instead of just being bullied at school, they can now be emotionally abused 24/7 by people who hide behind the anonymity of the internet (like BG) and who don't care what they say or what happens to the person they bully.
It's really worrying.
Those few years of preteen and teen are very crucial. If a parent cant find time for their teenage children it’s their loss. If depends on the upbringing of the child if he/she listens to their parents. Parent should be well aware and updated about what’s happening outside their four walls. Such things can be controlled if parents are more watchful and there are lots of options available to monitor the use of their PC.
But one we can learn from many lessons from, and also teach our children.
I'm sure many of us have done things in the past we truly regret. But it's up to us to either to put those mistakes down as learning curves in our lives and move on, or to let them continue to haunt us. As what happened with the young lady.
As for bullies, they will only get to you as much as you let them. We must teach our children to be tough, to be survivors, to shun bulling and see those who do it to be the worthless scum they are.And we need to always instill in them self worthiness. Amanda sadly saw herself to be worthless and thus the bullies succeeded.
Another lesson we can take is as parents to constantly be watchful of our kids and their lives.Yes even their virtual life which today has come to mean so much to people both young and old. Knowing her suffering, somehow I feel Amanda's parents didn't do enough to protect her from the cyber bullying. This is tragic really.
As for ourselves, we need to always remind ourselves that whilst we cannot erase away our past errors, we must never let the darkness of our past overshadow the brightness of our future. Regrets of the past and worries of the future are two of the key elements of many a mental disease. Let's not then fall into either trap.
This story is by far a great eyeopener. TFS MM...as always a very relevant post!
try flashing the links might work :)
People are just not the same they were say 20 years back...they have become less compassionate towards other humans :(
I cant open the links....but that sounds inhumane.
People are still posting insulting messages for Amanda on FB & Twitter, I was wondering what kind of sick people will look to bully her even after her death. Now I know, people like couple of retards here.
n i think few schools hand balloons to school going kids thinking they r mature enuf for $ex so flashing shldnt be a problem
she flashes on her own
she suicides on her own
she can answer u better if she deserved it or not
There are so many questions intertwined which seems to be otherwise accepted as simple as breathing:
- Does parental talk work with the kids these days…I mean how effective it is.
- Do parents have time to talk to their kids on such finer issues.
- Do parents actually foresee such problems happening to be able to educate their kids.
- How many parents are actually capable of educating their kids on such issues.
What we see is all talk in retrospect with the word "should" surrounding our response. BTW just curious how many parents have actually talked to their kids on such issues and their ramifications and this is not the only issue there are many out there.
such adorable people on QL making cute comments like they just evolved from the apes yesterday :P oops
ROFLMAO. Oh yes. All teenagers run to their parents with questions! LOL.
So you would have been quite comfortable bullying this girl till she committed suicide BG? You think she got what she deserves?
which kids mimi flashing ones ? even i hope the same
Wow. So one kid in a couple of million is a genius, so they should all be geniuses? I hope neither of you ever have kids.
Also there is a very big difference between academic intelligence and emotional intelligence. A 12 year old may be able to study at a University, but they aren't ready to live in the University dorms.
She didn't know the ramifications of what she was doing.
Then wanted me to flash............
So i did 1 yr later ..............
Small kids are not as smart as you Baburao, they are not aware of the consequences. Parents should talk to the kids about such things happening in the world and how to take care of themselves from such pedophiles. They are not only on the internet we can find them everywhere.
She was 12 years old BG. She didn't know the ramifications of what she was doing.
first show ur m00bs on ur own n then later cry foul as victim , if she had not flashed she wld have never become a bully
The poor girl was a victim of an online predator and then her peers made her life hell.
There are two issues to be addressed in this story, one is making your children aware of online predators, the other is teaching them not to bully or judge people for past mistakes.
Sure we should be cautious and be wary of online predators who are increasing day by day. Still if someone falls prey to these predators then they shouldn't be ostracized like this.
TDKR...we cant control others but we sure can control our actions and if we didnt we have nothing to complain. But I also know I belong to a very thin minority who believe in self control.
why not visit canada with miss mimi and ask all ur queries
And what about the bullies? She flashed on cam once, fine she made a mistake but what kind of dumbf**k pricks made her life hell over this?
Easier said than done. Children and adults have to be educated to realise that sharing photos and information over the internet and virtual space can be dangerous.
Smart phones have led to too many people just clicking and sending without using their brains..
What a heartbreaking story..
This is the full video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80RqEf56Ix4&feature=related , the one you posted isn't complete.
Its neither the first nor the last. Inspite of whatever education etc etc these incidents cannot be stopped and neither could they be reduced... in fact they would only increase with each passing moment. Just wish none nearby gets affected.
And this is the case of a child, the matured guys and girls are no better. have seen some in so much of a hurry (almost nearing heart attack situation) if they are unable to find a place to upload there Dukhan beach photos on FB...:) I have been asked to drive faster or at times even avoid stopping to buy a drink or even to pee on way back for the same reason...:)
we shld watch our kids while baby sitting too u never know when a maid can sexually harass a small baby and is canada in qatar