Civil penalties, if pursued by an organization such as the RIAA, can range from a minimum of $750 per song to thousands of dollars per song. Due to the civil lawsuits filed by the RIAA, piracy awareness rose from 35% to 72%. The RIAA has since stopped its broad-based end user litigation program [RIAA 2010]. The Internet has also facilitated the disturbing trend of cyber-bullying and cyber-harassment. Attempts to curb cyber-harassment may prove difficult as "cyber-bullies" may be anonymous and therefore, difficult to identify. In "Cyber-Bullying in Schools: A Research for Gender Differences," Qing Li states that school violence is a serious social problem that is persistent and acute during middle school [LI 2006]. Cyber-bullying, as defined by Tanya Beran and Qing Li in "Cyber Harassment: A New Method for an Old Behavior," is defined as "the repeated and intentional use of various forms of technology such as cell-phones, pagers, emails, instant messaging, and Web sites by individuals or groups to harm others" [BERAN 2005]. Cyber-bullying includes flaming, harassment, stalking, denigration, masquerade, outing, trickery, and exclusion [LI 2006]. In many cases, cyber-bullying victims can experience depression, helplessness, social incompetence, anxiety, low self-esteem, and loneliness and may exhibit impulsive behaviors and hyperactivity. A more serious result of cyber-bullying is suicide, a topic that has recently been exposed by the media due to recent suicides by cyber-bullying victims. Some of the most publicized cyber-bullying suicide victims include Megan Meier who took her life on October 16, 2006 after being harassed on MySpace by a former friend's mother, Lori Drew. Drew as subsequently indicted...

Because of this event, legislation was passed in Missouri with the hope of preventing future cyber-bullying [CYBERBULLYING RESEARCH CENTER 2010]. Legislation was also passed in Massachusetts after Phoebe Price committed suicide on January 14, 2010. The death of Tyler Clementi on September 22, 2010 also raised the issue of cyber bullying as Clementi's suicide was the first in a series of cyber-bullying related suicides that occurred in the month of September 2010 [JAMES 2010]. Though many people spoke out against the travesty that had occurred, it is a shame that so many people had to die before the issue was brought to light. It is the responsibility of society to establish and enforce acceptable behavior.
Though the Internet has some flaws, it is a valuable resource to those that use it properly. It allows individuals to maintain contact with their loved ones, provides access to research for personal and educational purposes, and provides an outlet for personal expression.

Reference List

BERAN T., LI Q. 2005 Cyber-Harassment: A Study of a New Method for an Old Behavior

JOURNAL of EDUCATIONAL COMPUTING, Calgary, AB, Canada.

CYBERBULLING RESEARCH CENTER 2010 Accessed 3 December 2010

CYBER CRIME REPORT 2009 Accessed 3 December 2010

ERBRING L., NIE, N. 2000 Internet and Society: A Preliminary Report SIQSS Stanford, MA

JONES, R. 2010 U.S. gay community reeling from 'epidemic' of suicides among teenagers taunted over sexuality Accessed 3 December 2010

LI, Q. 2006 Cyber bullying in Schools: A Research of Gender Differences SAGE PUBLICATIONS

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