Children harassed by abusive text messages

A fifth of schoolchildren have recieved abusive text messages on their mobile phones according to a survey of 1500 children aged 8-13.

Being bullied by email or text can be more upsetting than being bullied in the playground because it feels like there is no escape. But tormenting someone by email or text or through the Internet is illegal and it can be stopped.

Often bullies who use new technology to bully their victims tend to keep their identity a secret. But there are ways to find out who they are.

Just because this type of bullying exists doesn’t mean you have to become scared of using your mobile phone or surfing the Web, just check out our Internet and mobile phone bullying sections for tips on how to deal with it.

Mobile phone bullying

If someone deliberately calls you or sends text messages (SMS) with the intention of threatening, scaring or upsetting you, it is mobile phone bullying.

What to do:

Tell someone what is happening.
Be careful who you give your mobile number to. Make sure your friends know not to pass your number on to others and keep a list of people who already know it.
Don’t respond to abusive calls or texts. If you ignore them, the bully might get the message that you aren’t going to rise to their bait and get bored.
Save the messages and call records. It is best to try to do this on your mobile but if you don’t have enough space, make a record of the time of the call or text, what was said and if possible the mobile number of the bully.
Let your mobile network provider know. Tell them how often the bullying is happening. They are usually helpful and may be able to change your mobile number for free and/or block incoming calls and texts from the bully.

Internet bullying

Internet bullying includes abusive emails or posts on message boards or hate sites created to threaten or insult someone. The Internet may seem like an anonymous place where people can hide their true identity but there are ways to find and stop Internet bullies. Emails can be tracked to find out where they have been sent from and abusive websites can be shut down.

How to deal with Internet bullying

Don’t feel trapped. You can always turn off your computer or change your email address.
Don’t reply to abusive or threatening emails. Keep the emails and forward a copy to the sender’s Internet Service Provider so they can ban them from using their email account. You can find the sender’s Internet Service provider after the @ sign in their email address.
Let your Internet Service provider know what is happening so that they can block the bully’s email address. If you are being bullied through a website or a message board your Internet Service Provider should be able to find out who runs the site and tell them to remove the insulting material or close the site.

For further information and support visit www.bullying.co.uk this site is full of useful tips and advice.

Premium Rate Calls, what are they and how much do they cost me?

Most of us have a mobile phone or access to digital TV or the Internet at home so using premium rate services is made very easy – but are you aware of what it costs!

Premium rate services allows you to order ringtones and wallpapers for your mobile, vote on reality TV shows, get goal alerts from your favourite football team and enter competitions to win great prizes.

It is really important to make sure that you know what we’re doing and exactly what money we are spending.

Strictly Come Dancing – Deal or No Deal – Brainteaser – X Factor – press to play – I’m a Celebrity…

You’ve seen the programmes – call or text and you get to join in by voting or playing. You’ve heard of the red button games on your TV menu – just press, agree to the terms and play. These services all use premium rate calls. Premium rate costs between 10p to £1.50 for each go or for each minute (plus any network charges)
.
Remember, it’s always your choice if you want to take part. Make sure you understand the price, know what you are getting and are prepared to pay before you dial. Not 100% certain? Don’t call!

Remember…

Check the price
Check you are old enough
Check with the bill-payer before you dial!

When you watch these things on TV you might feel like you ought to join in, that you have a better chance than other people or that ‘time is limited’. Whatever happens, don’t be pushed into doing something you don’t want to do.

Will it cost you money?

If you are calling a number starting 090’ or texting a key word to a mobile shortcode to cast your vote on a TV show, enter a competition or order products like RINGTONES, WALLPAPER and GOAL ALERTS, this will cost you money! These types of PREMIUM RATE SERVICES cost between 10p and £1.50 per minute/call/text (plus any network charges

Don’t worry about our weekly texting service MCTXT4U it is completely free to you, we pay the charges.

Helpful Tips

Always

Keep your eyes open.
Check out the price.
Have you got enough credit? (If you don’t, it will come out of your next top-up.)
Know what you’re getting. (Is it a subscription service?)
Know what it costs.
Always check with the Bill payer
If in doubt don’t do it

This is a really great site with games and information, you can find out about all the Jargon used by mobile phone companies and how much you are charged for using the services.www.phonebrain.org.uk

Are you being bullied?
Sometimes, bullying happens so much that people get used to it and start to believe that it's a normal part of everyday life.
But bullying's not normal. Nobody should think of bullying as the normal bit of hassle you get at school or work.
It's important to remember that if you're being bullied, it isn't your fault, it's the person bullying who has the problem. You don't have to put up with it.
Bullying is a widespread problem and one of the hardest things about it is admitting that it might be happening to you.
We all like to think that we can look after ourselves, but we might sometimes play down behaviour that counts as bullying because we don't want to make a fuss, or hope it will go away.

Tell tale signs

Bullying takes on many forms, with some of the most common being:

Teasing and name calling
Damaging somebody's stuff
Spreading rumours about somebody
Leaving someone out of a group
Threatening someone or beating them up

This list doesn't cover everything, because there are many ways that someone who bullies can get to their target.

Advice and Tips

Use your best judgment. Sometimes giving in to their demands can help, but it's not a long-term solution

People who bully want to get a reaction out of you, but don't retaliate

Try noting down dates, times and places of when the bullying happens

Make sure you've got your friends around you most of the time

Don't suffer in silence. Bullying is wrong - so tell someone about it, find out more and get advice on www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk full of tips and advice.