Physical bullying is really about short term outcomes. Verbal bullying is more insidious and lasting. There are no figures to measure the extent of cyber bullying. At a conference on children's Oral Culture at Sheffield University earlier this year, Elizabeth Grugeon, senior lecturer in teacher education at De Montfort University in Bedford, suggested girls are quickly becoming more proactive in bullying through verbal comments. Those cheerful, indeed innocent, appearing playground games of dancing, clapping and singing may actually be, so Grugeon says, mantras of abuse pertaining to boys such as Girls go to Mars to get more stars.
Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider.
It is likely that the most damaging forms of bullying are often taken less seriously by teachers. After all, surreptitiously effective bullying through name calling, threats and extortion, is less obvious that a bloodied nose, pulled hair and loose teeth. E-MAIL is made for quick hits of a verbal kind. This is the new bullying and it is beginning to be researched and understood as being particularly damaging. Few people open their computer's in box expecting to be given a screen full of abuse.