Bullying goes digital.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/8872242/Meera-Syal-calls-for-action-on-cyber-bullying.html

In recent years there have been many news stories about the growing issue of cyber bullying ranging in severity and even drastically with cases such as Megan Meier in the USA committing suicide due to cyber bullying she was recieving on a daily basis becoming so extreme. The actress Meera Syal has decided to bring this issue to light because her daughter has been affected by it and it is about time that more people in the spotlight talk about it because as the article states: 'Nearly one in five UK youngsters have been the victim of cyber bullying' It is clearly the rise in social networking websites such as Facebook, mentioned in this article which have been the cause of this, a place where young people often feel they can say anything and are untouchable and I believe the most important part of this story is when Meera says: "While I am a passionate defender of free speech I think the time has come to examine carefully when a freely expressed opinion turns into something akin to victimisation and trial by media." The point is, yes, people are entitled to there own opinion and say but when expressing that leads to teenagers taking such drastic measures as in the Meier case surely it is time for a crack down on these types of things on the Internet. The problem is that sites such as Facebook allows people to remain anonymous and that makes young people feel they won't be held accountable like they would if they were to say such things face to face. The question is though should it be left to public figures to speak out about this culture of bullying or should Facebook and other such sites be doing more to tackle the issue head on. Surely its the latter?