Parents taking extreme action against cyber bullies
THOUSANDS of anxious parents are hiring private investigators to track down anonymous bullies who terrorise and stalk their children on Facebook and other social networks.
Fed up with a lack of action from schools and police, parents are paying up to $800 a day to have cyber-security experts confront the bullies, in a desperate bid to protect their vulnerable kids.
One prominent private investigator said he received three calls a day from parents willing to do anything they could to stop the online taunts, the violent threats, and the intimidation that remains rife and unfettered on social networks.
And it's working.
When confronted by private investigators, shown the files highlighting their ugly behaviour, and threatened with police action, the vast majority of bullies cease their online abuse.
Today The Daily Telegraph launches a campaign to cramp the style of those bullies who gutlessly hide behind anonymous social network profiles in a bid to intimidate and bully victims online.
The campaign seeks to put pressure on social network sites to become more proactive in pursuing and banning bullies who use anonymous profiles.
It also aims to boost the resources and cyber-bullying expertise in police and education departments, and foster a working relationship between governments, schools and social network companies. And it will look at the wider impact of bullying on children and their families.
"The social networks are in the best position to track down these modern day bullies and I'd welcome any measures they take to address the problem," Premier Barry O'Farrell said of The Daily Telegraph's campaign.
"There is also a role for greater cooperation between police and the networks and for parents, teachers and friends to stay vigilant and report any examples of cyber bullying to authorities."
Former AFP investigator Jason King said the pursuit of Facebook bullies was now the mainstay of his private investigations operation, given the flood of inquiries he receives. "I get three calls a day about it, and the youngest I've had is about 11-12. And I take on 50 per cent of them," he said.
"There are two things I do. Either I put some stuff together and send it to the family, so they can choose what to do with the information, or we take it to the school or police to deal with.
"Some are already known to the parents and the kid. They come and say 'look, our Julie is being harassed by Jennifer at school, can you prove it'. Some are completely anonymous.
"I've also done a fair few hate pages as well, with families who are grieving contacting me to determine who has set up a Facebook site targeting them. Most of them are unknown to the family; they do it because they can."
The private investigators who spoke with The Daily Telegraph claim both schools and police
had failed to act after complaints of bullying had been raised, a similar allegation made by the parents of 13-year-old Sydney girl Madeleine Milne, who committed suicide after bullies relentlessly pursued her. Maddy died on April 25, just a few days before the start of the school term.
Nina Hobson, director of investigations group Meridian Services, said cyber bullies were quickly jolted into reality when confronted by a private investigator on their doorstep.
The former child protections investigator, who also operates an education and awareness program called Space Safe Kidz in schools, said parents came to her with no options left on the table.
"We've recently done one with a Year 11 girl who was being stalked on Facebook. We traced the guy and presented it to the family," she said.
"The family didn't want the girl to be caught up in a criminal investigation because it was an important year at school, but they wanted it to stop. So we approached the person and said 'this is your opportunity for this to stop … we know who you are, and this will be passed to the police if you don't stop'. The guy stopped."
The cyber security expert believes Facebook and Twitter should remove the rights for customers to remain anonymous if they are found to be bullying other Facebook users.
Facebook did not respond to The Daily Telegraph's questions.
Hunger Games | Jennifer Lawrence #10 On Top Celebrity Role Models
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games star has been considered as one of Kidz World’s top 10 teen celebrity role models because of her confidence about her body even if some people call her fat, she still stands to what she believes in.
Jennifer Lawrence said in one interview that:
“I’m never going to starve myself for a part, I don’t want little girls to be like, ‘Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I’m going to skip dinner’…I was trying to get my body to look fit and strong—not thin and underfed.”
Jennifer Lawrence also said:
“I eat like a caveman,” … “I’ll be the only actress who doesn’t have anorexia rumors.”
Jennifer Lawrence believes that she has a normal, healthy weight even under the pressure to be too thin… and that level of confidence is worth looking up to just like what Be Your Own You teaches young girls.
Be Your Own You together with another teen role model and celebrity spokesperson, Cymphonique, has a mission to build the self-esteem of girls, teens, and young women worldwide, encouraging them to embrace their unique and authentic selves.
So girls, always remember that, your beauty comes from having your own style, living your own way and knowing your own mind. Here are some quotes from famous people that young girls should keep in mind:
“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.”
- Marilyn Monroe
“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection”
- Gautama Buddha
Dreams of Classic Disney Princesses
Despite newer Disney princess movies, little girls still dress up as the classic characters. One reason they are iconic is because they all come from an existing story. Some children think Walt Disney invented fairy tales. What kind of heroines did his vision create?
Each teenage heroine has a dream so strong that they even sing about it! Cinderella’s song “A Dream Is a Wish” sounds like a Disney princess needs a dream to carry on:
A dream is a wish your heart makes
When you’re fast asleep
In dreams you lose your heartaches
Whatever you wish for, you keep
Have faith in your dreams and someday
Your rainbow will come smiling thru
No matter how your heart is grieving
If you keep on believing
the dream that you wish will come true
Let’s compare their parents’ plans and the Disney princesses’ dreams.
The classic Disney princesses want love or a new life.
Of course Snow White and Cinderella want a new life with people who love them. Despite their lowered status, they keep positive and sing to turn work into a pleasant task. Aurora doesn’t know she her true identity, but she has no complaints. She just seeks romantic love.
Ariel may feel like only part of a set, but she gets more of their father’s attention. Ariel also does what Jasmine wants to do: explore outside home and abandon duties. Nothing under the sea would satisfy Ariel probably because all of it is still her father’s. The duty Jasmine dreads the most is marrying a man she doesn’t like for the sake of the kingdom.
And finally Belle enjoys her home with her father, the inventor, but nothing extraordinary happens outside the house. Belle wants life to be less predictable.
Walt Disney’s vision created heroines who want more than their homes provide. Children may get the wrong idea. Because the classic Disney princesses look like they escape home, children may falsely think chores and rules are neglect. The classic Disney princess movies don’t show how parents teach their children to rely on themselves and be reliable so they can make their place in society.
Another reason why Disney princesses stay popular is because they are success stories. Ariel, Belle, and Jasmine thirst for more in life before dreaming of love, but romantic love is still shown as the path to a girl’s dreams and happiness. A love story should not be the only success story for girls.
In the next blog we will look closer at how these classic Disney Princesses try to achieve their dreams and overcome the obstacles for it. What are your impressions of the classic ones?
Snapchat Photos Can Be Undeleted and Captured: When It Matters
But, it's also important for kids and adults to realize that there's no such thing content that absolutely disappears forever. Anything that can be digitized can be copied and stored and, as a forensics expert recently demonstrated, with the right tools, Snapchat photos, like PC files, can be undeleted.
Richard Hickman, from Utah-based Decipher Forensics, showed a KSL TV reporter how his firm can restore deleted Snapchat photos from Android devices. He said he is working on a way to do the same with iOS phones and tablets. In a blog post, he described how he is able to transfer Snapchat data from an Android phone to a PC and recover deleted images.
Snapchat responded with its own blog post admitting "if you've ever tried to recover lost data after accidentally deleting a drive or maybe watched an episode of CSI, you might know that with the right forensic tools, it's sometimes possible to retrieve data after it has been deleted."
Lessons learned
I'm sure you've heard this before but it doesn't hurt to remind kids and ourselves that, on the Internet, there there is no such thing as an eraser button. Even if you think something is gone, you never know for sure. The safest way to avoid problems is not to post or send anything that could get you into serious trouble if it were ever revealed. That's not to say you shouldn't do things that are a wacky or potentially even a bit embarrassing but you should avoid posting something that could get you into serious trouble or cause you severe mental distress were it later to surface.
When it matters: Calculating risks
It's all a matter of calculating risks and benefits. Unless you're sending your photos to mean or devious people, the odds of someone capturing the screen and sending around your pictures are probably quite low and -- at least based on current technology -- the process of undeleting is complicated and expensive and requires physical possession of the phone. It can't be done remotely. The company that discovered it will charge parents and law enforcement between $300 and $500 per image recovered). What that means to me is that it's OK to send wacky photos to your friends but not OK to send photos that could be illegal (such as sexually explicit or nude pictures of people under 18 -- including self-portraits) or that could get you into serious trouble at school or with current or future friends or love interests. For more on this, see my post, Why I'm Not Worried That It's Possible to Undelete Snapchat Photos.
Advice for parents
The takeaway for parents is, once again, to talk with your kids about how they are using this and all other apps, but not to panic or prevent them from using the app. There are lots of fun and appropriate ways to use Snapchat and other photo-sharing apps and its "disappearing" feature, however imperfect, can add to its fun because kids know that in most cases the images won't stick around forever. Does that equate no risk? Of course not, but it also doesn't mean that there aren't good -- and appropriate- ways to use the app.
For more on safe photo sharing see Larry's websites SafeKids.com and ConnectSafely.org. Also see Teens and Tweens Flock to Instagram: What Parents Need to Know
One Direction Auctioning Autographed Shoes For Kids in a New Groove
One Direction members are not just talented teens, they are also good role models for young people because just recently, they started a campaign to help the community.
One Direction is helping Kids in a New Groove in honor of National Foster Care Month. Harry, Liam, Zayn, Louis and Niall donated their authentic autographed shoes for auction to help children in American foster care system.
The proceeds of “Kicks for Kids” contest will benefit Kids in a New Groove to provide them with new musical instruments and private music lessons through their Lessons are the Lifeline program.
Here are the shoes for auction.
You may join the bidding at KidsInANewGroove Facebook page.
You may also want to help TLC Foundation, a foundation raising funds for the research and clinical trials geared toward the treatment of childhood cancers. Visit BeYourOwnYou.Org to know more!
