Editorial: Online bullies disgust

Cyber bullies disgust.

John Key has told an audience that he worries about the amount of "haters" his son, Max Key, has as a result of being prominent on news websites and radio stations as well as social media, for no reason other than he's trending at the moment.

Of course, there's a small part of all of us who think a person who gets prominence on websites because he takes his shirt off and is the Prime Minister's son should be prepared for some derision.

Some of us might think, yeah, well, sucks to be you, Max.

But the reality is that the savagery of social media is so profound that the Prime Minister is right to be worried, not just for his son, but for anyone of that age.

I met a mother recently who described a campaign of mental violence against her daughter via social media and texting. The campaign sums up a catalogue of stalking, harassment, threats of violence, threats to kill, and promises that it will never stop.

Those perpetrating this kind of violence are teenagers so out of kilter with the norms of society that you seriously wonder whether they have any chance of functioning properly as adults.

As for their victims, bullying scars last a lifetime and affect the way you interact with your peers for all time.

Anybody can be anybody online and with that disguise comes the realisation that social barriers mean nothing. Teenagers turn into feral hunters, selecting a target, and enjoying the effect as an observer. It touches on the ultimate power of walking among your victims while they are unaware of your role in their victimisation.

Does this disgust you as much as me? This kind of thing can only be handled with exposure and confrontation, but I suspect all too often it also means pulling children from one school and placing them in another.

We all get hate mail. Journalists get their share, and we generally shrug our shoulders. That's because we're not in an environment where our haters and bullies walk among us.

Schoolkids are, every day.