Cyberbullying continues to become the individual terrorism of the online world without any end in sight. With the U.K.'s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children recently citing some sobering statistics, you can also see how much of a worldwide problem cyberbullying has become. In the NSPCC figures, cyberbullies now target one out of every five children online.

In 2011, a fifteen-year-old girl was released from the hospital following a failed suicide attempt. However, when she got out of the hospital, the girls who had been bullying her by using a text bombing website to send her multiple text messages, picked up right where they left off.

Her second suicide attempt was successful.

An important part of parental intelligence is understanding what text bombing is, and how kids are using it to cyberbully and harass each other. With new apps being developed every day, it doesn't matter that the Google App store has banned two of the apps responsible for allowing kids to demonstrate this type of behavior - SMSBomber and SMSBarrage. 

These apps are a new form of cyberbullying and allow kids to download them and then send multiple text messages to the same person. By using the app, a kid can send thousands of different text messages to the same person during the course of the day. Even as an adult, imagine receiving a thousand different text messages from the same place during one day. Perhaps the messages said something like, "Your wife is cheating on you", "I saw her with someone else today", or "Your marriage is over." Even if you feel relatively solid within your marriage, getting so many of those text messages all at once is sure to at least make you doubt the faithfulness of your wife. 

For kids, the feeling is amplified even more.

The following article was originally posted on the Huffington Post by Dr. G. 

Is bullying getting worse? Studies show that more kids and parents are reporting bullying, but even more concerning is higher rates of kids surveyed anonymously say they don't report bullying. The most concerning trend is that kids involved in bullying are more likely than ever to commit suicide. Kids are, as a group, probably no meaner now than in generations past. So what is the problem?

Access.

This article was originally posted on the Huffington Post by Sue Scheff, one of our favorite parenting bloggers. 

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a time when you could power up your electronics -- whether it's your iPad, tablet, PC or cell phone -- and not have to worry about any type of hostile content?

Internet trolls and cyberbullies never take vacations or summer breaks, and they don't recognize holidays.

This holiday season, as cyberbullying and bullying sadly continues, you can give your teens and kids the gift of cyber-armor!

Earlier this month, a 15-year old from St. Petersburg, FL was arrested for sending “hundreds of threatening text messages” over the course of eight days to former friends. Some were even death threats. The suspect used a smartphone app called Kik Messenger, which happens to be the cyberbullying app du jour, also used in the Rebecca Ann Sedwick cyberbullying case that contributed to her suicide. Kik allows users to send text messages from an Internet Desk Top to cell phones.

The tactic is called “text bombing”

Check out the SlideShare on uKnowKids's newest eBook, "Bullycide: The Dark Side of Cyberbullying." This important SlideShare gives you the basics of one of the most dangerous trends in recent memory affecting our youth -- suicide linked to excessive bullying. The SlideShare gives you a condensed version of this troubling trend, but if you want the full text, download the eBook here.

This Slideshare will teach you basics about:

• an introduction to bullycide

• the disastrous consequences of cyberbullying

• bullycide and the law

• and more.

It is no doubt that the internet has changed the world in ways most of us couldn’t have even seen coming. Young people today find themselves in a world where they are constantly online. Cell phones, Wi-Fi hotspots, and tablets have made being online 24/7 ‘the norm,” making responsible digital parenting more important than ever. According to research, thirty seven percent of Americans aged twelve to seventeen access the Internet on a smartphone and over half are accidentally exposed to inappropriate content. Because of these stats and the prevalence of the internet, it is more important than ever to lay ground rules for your connected kids. 

 During the course of digital parenting, it’s hard for children to understand you’re only concerned for their wellbeing. Most advice you offer seems like it’s completely ignored or seen as a challenge. There are ways to set rules with your children so they understand your concern and don’t see it as an attack. Remember that your own teenage years likely saw you become stubborn as you tried to learn how to make your own choices. Technology may connected kids, but it doesn’t change what being a kid is. While the experience of growing up may be the same, the connected world your kids find themselves in creates new challenges that require hard rules. Here are 6 Internet safety rules for parents of teens and tweens to enforce:

This article was originally posted on the NPR blog "All Tech Considered."

Facebook has rolled out a tool to address online harassment that some digital safety advocates are calling a beneficial, but belated, first step.

The social networking site with 1.2 billion users worldwide released a "bullying prevention hub" this week. It's essentially an online resource center with suggestions for teens, parents and educators on how to address bullying — both online and off — and take action on Facebook.

The site is also beginning to roll out more options for teens to report when posts are making them uncomfortable.

The idea is to build on Facebook's existing tools, says company spokesman Matt Steinfeld.

This article was originally published by the New York Times, Somini Sengupta.

For years, a school principal’s job was to make sure students were not creating a ruckus in the hallways or smoking in the bathroom. Vigilance ended at the schoolhouse gates.

This article was orginally posted on the Huffington Post by Michael Gregg, COO of Superior Solutions.

If you think you're hip to your children's online social habits because you know all about Facebook and Twitter, you've got it all wrong. Tweens and teens are increasingly leaving these sites in favor of new apps that offer richer features and a safe haven from watchful parents.

If you have turned on the news lately than you have no doubt heard about the tragic trend known as bullycide. Bullycide is the unfortunate link between suicide and bullying, and the young teenagers' names associated with it are all too fresh in our minds.

Tragically, one thing we keep hearing over and over again is that the parent's had no idea what was happening to their children online. So these teens were dealing with merciless cyberbullying with seemingly no one to turn to. 

For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. The next in the series involves Akilah C. Thompson, Founder and President of ACT Inspires Inc. and Generations Inspired Inc.

uKK: What is the nature of your expertise on cyberbullying?

AT: As an inspirational speaker, I work with teenagers as well as college students and have learned a lot about cyberbullying directly from them and conducting research on the subject to find solutions.  I am also actively involved on social media and have witnessed the impacts of bullying over the Internet. I was a bully myself growing up due to low self esteem and strive to assist young people with tools to be confident in all areas of their lives to avoid being victims of bullying. I have facilitated trainings, workshops, open forums and seminars that focus on cyberbullying, bulling and the proper use of social media.

uKK: What do you believe is the number one thing that can be done to draw attention to and prevent this trend?

AT: There are several things that can be done but I believe the first thing is to hold social media sites accountable for facilitating cyberbullying.

DoSomething.org reports students who are cyberbullied have up to nine times higher chances of suicide. Cyberbullying comes in many forms: stalking, harassment and identity theft are three common forms. Self-esteem problems, unwillingness to go to school, and engaging in bullying behavior of their own are signs that your child might be a victim of cyberbullying. If your child has plunging grades and doesn't want to hang out with their friends, it's time to take a look into what's going on in his or her life.

This article was originally published in the Huffington Post by Caroline Knorr, Common Sense Media parenting editor.

With the statistics piling up, it has become increasingly clear that the cruelties inflicted by cyberbullying have become a devastating reality for many tweens and teens.

While bullying is nothing new, when it takes place in the digital world, the public humiliation can shatter young lives. Photos, cruel comments, taunts and threats travel in an instant, and can be seen, revisited, reposted, linked to and shared by a huge audience.

We're all responsible for making the digital world a decent place. Below are some of the top concerns we've heard from parents trying to make sense of kids' online behavior.

For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. The next in the series involves Jayne A. Hitchcock, President of Working to Halt Online Abuse – Kids/Teen Division.

uKK:What is the nature of your expertise on cyberbullying?

For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. The next in the series involves Ruth Carter, Licensed Arizona Attorney.

uKK: What is the nature of your expertise on cyberbullying?

RC: One of my passions and areas of practice is social media law, which includes cyberbullying.

I wrote the book The Legal Side of Blogging: How Not to get Sued, Fired, Arrested, or Killed which includes topics related to cyberbullying prevention.

I’ve also experienced cyberbullying as a law student.

This article was originally published in the Huffington Post by Kathleen Miles.

California teens get an online "eraser button" under a law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday.  The law makes California the first state to require websites to allow people younger than 18 to remove their own postings on that website, and to clearly inform minors how to do so.

For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. The next in the series involves Tom Jacobs, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Pro Tem/Commissioner (Arizona) (1985 to 2008) and founder of askthejudge.info.

For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. The next in the series involves Tara Fishler, Founder & CEO of “Customized Training Solutions."

uKK: What is the nature of your expertise on cyberbullying?

TF: I have been educating students, parents and teachers on the issues of bullying, cyberbullying and related topics for many years.

uKK: What do you believe is the number one thing that can be done to draw attention to and prevent this trend?

For the month of October, during National Bullying Prevention Month, we are posting interviews we conducted with some of the most influential people in the cyberbullying prevention space. The next in the series involves Jill Buban, Dean, School of Education at Post University.

uKK: What is the nature of your expertise on cyberbullying?

JB: My experience with cyberbullying spans K-12 and college students, as well as in my experiences as a parent of an elementary school child. As a parent, previous high school teacher, college instructor, and currently, college administrator, cyberbullying is ever present and should be a top concern for parents and places of learning.

uKK: What do you believe is the number one thing that can be done to draw attention to and prevent this trend?