I have just heard on the TV that cyber bullying has gone one step further. It is apparent that this has been going on for a while but it is something that can seriously lead to much more darker and dangerous things.

Apparently, children as young as 11 years old, both boys and girls, are taking pictures/videos of themselves either on their mobile phones or their pc camera and then sending them to friends. I consider myself pretty open minded but this does make me feel very ill at the thought of it.

We have all been made aware of the sick thing called paedophilia and what happens to adults who look at such things, and rightly so.

It is reported that children are doing this becasue their friends are or they are asked to do so by their boyfriend/girlfriend even to take pictures of them in the act of sex! It is a very disturbing thing to have to try and deal with as you can appreciate.

The bottom line is that if you feel that you 'have' to do it becasue my friends are then that is wrong. If you are cajoled into doing it by your boyfriend/girlfriend then it is wrong. OK, you will say that they are sent to my best friend, but can you trust them not to show it around or share it? What happens if they lose their phone and somene finds it?

Did you know that this is not just dangerous but also illegal? The sending of explicit images to other people is illegal and can be enforced by the law as you are not allowed to use the telecommunications network for such purposes and this will be viewable in the small print of your ISP/phone providers contract.

What happens if a paedophile gets to see the images and tries to contact you for more? What happens if an innocent adult is sent these and then prosecuted as a paedophile?

This is another form of cyber bullying and one that could very easily put you directly in harms way. As mentioned in the post above mobile phones are readily available to all kids as is the internet and this has become the new 'playground' for the bullies, whether it be the big kid with four friends who all smoke behind the bike sheds or the gang of girls who go around with loads of make-up, chewing gum and smoking with the boys behind the bike shed or it couid be your boyfriend/girlfriend wanting to try to do something different. It is bullying!

If you feel that you are being bullied like this or anyway for that matter there are places online you can contact as well phoning the Childline Charity.

Bullying UK
Childline
Bully Online

Don't forget, TELL YOUR PARENTS, TELL YOUR TEACHER, or anyone else you can trust and can help.

You are not alone!