A WEBSITE depicting a corpse has appalled a Wanganui family and shocked internet experts who deal with cyber-bullying.
The site, which emerged this week, listed reasons why the authors disliked a Wanganui girl ? and showed a picture of a dead body.
The girl's family told the Wanganui Chronicle yesterday they were
appalled by the website, which has since been removed.
"We were shocked and angry."
The girl discovered the website by coincidence. It contained a number of lies, including that the girl stole things, the family says.
"She doesn't know why they are saying these things. She has no idea."
The girl has since discovered that many people had seen the website.
Her sister said yesterday she had heard of text bullies before, but this sort of thing was disgraceful.
"It's a new low ? it's out of control," she said.
"There have been young people who have committed suicide because of text bullies. It's a serious thing."
The fact that the website depicted a dead body made it even worse.
The family approached the parents of the two girls who allegedly designed the website.
"They were horrified and encouraged us to go to the police."
Rachel Harrison, of internet watchdog Netsafe, said the group received 750 calls last year about text bullying alone.
She said the Wanganui example sounded terrible.
Because many people don't report cyber-bullying it was impossible to know exactly how often it occurred.
"About a third of the total complaints we get a year are so serious they require police intervention," Ms Harrison said.
Nearly 40 people were reported to police last month because of serious online threats to people's personal safety.
"Forty-five percent of our complainants are adults, and that surprises a lot of people," she said.
Ms Harrison said social interaction networks on the internet were making it easier for people to communicate but abuse was rife.
"We get a lot of schools targeted and people post inappropriate comments on forums," she said.
Parents sometimes felt out of their depth with their more technology-savvy kids.
"But parents have more life experience and are good at solving problems. They should get alongside their kids while they're online and educate themselves."
Police are making inquiries into the website and have yet to speak to the individuals who designed it.
"It's typical teenage rubbish," a police spokesman said.
