Teens and tweens have been bullying each other for generations. The bullies of today, however, have the advantage of utilizing technology such as computers, cell phones and other electronic devices to inflict harm on others.

Cyberbullying is when one person or a group of people aim to threaten, tease or embarrass someone else by using a mobile phone, the internet or other technologies.It has many terms associated with it, and we'll go over a couple important ones here:

Email
Sending emails that can be threatening or upsetting. Emails can be sent directly to a single target, or to a group of people to encourage them to become part of the bullying. These messages or ‘hate mails’ can include examples of racism, sexism and other types of prejudice.

Instant messenger and chatrooms
Sending instant messenger and chatroom messages to friends or direct to a victim. Others can be invited into the bullying conversation, who then become part of it by laughing.

Social networking sites
Setting up profiles on social networking sites to make fun of someone. By visiting these pages or contributing to them, you become part of the problem and add to the feelings of unhappiness felt by the victim.

Mobile phone
Sending humiliating and abusive text or video messages, as well as photo messages and phone calls over a mobile phone. This includes anonymous text messages over short distances using Bluetooth technology and sharing videos of physical attacks on individuals (happy slapping).

viruses
Some people send viruses or hacking programs to another person that can destroy their computers or delete personal information from their hard drive.

Trolling is when someone posts intentionally antagonistic messages on an online bulletin board or discussion area. Griefing, one of the most common forms of cyberbullying, is harassment of another player or participant within an online game.

Experts say that the Internet makes bad or anti-social behavior easier. Cyberbullies can be classmates, online acquaintances, and even anonymous users, but most often they do know their victims.CyberBullying can seem more extreme to its victims

Cyberbullying can be a complicated issue, especially for adults who are not as familiar with using the Internet , Research shows that the effects of cyber bullying can be worse than face-to-face bullying, as there is less awareness about it and fewer places for victims to seek refuge. There have been stories of people making web pages and MySpace pages with upsetting photos and taunts and sending the links to the victim and their friends. It's also easy for people to use an unrecognised phone number and send messages in bulk. But like more typical forms of bullying, it can be prevented when kids know how to protect themselves and parents are available to help.