Interesting premise. I think you should spend more time developing your explanation of the root cause of the problem and why you think the real cause of unrelenting harassment is boredom. There are more activities available for children today, more than ever before, online and offline, in school, and out of school. Yet, bullying persists. Based on this paper I don't fully grasp the connection you've laid out. You conclude with "If we want to reduce cyber bullying we need to encourage and provide resources for young people to become creators rather than mindless consumers." I feel like this should be your thesis, and you should spend the intro discussing certain possible causes of bullying, then delve into why you think this is the cause and what the best solution is, and youre reasons for that conclusion.

You say that the next step is to encourage creation of technology where teens begin sharing ideas rather than personal life details. There are numerous online resources available whereby children can share ideas, and many of these resources are the same resources (such as Facebook) used to share personal life details. The technology exists. Kids just aren't using it in the way you want them too (or the way they should). So, the focus maybe should be on how to change children's perception of available technology, or make children use the available technology in more beneficial ways.

I do think a lot of it is "kids will be kids." You say that this "reason" doesn't explain why harassment is unrelenting. That assumes that normal harassment by bullies isn't unrelenting and that kids will be kids analysis only applies to mild bullying. But, I don't see why unrelenting harassment isn't the norm. Bullies aren't once in a while making fun of some kid. The problem persists, and bullying is in the news and in our legislature, because it has become increasingly unrelenting. So perhaps "kids will be kids" is the exact reason why it is unrelenting - thats just the norm. Perhaps you could offer evidence showing that this type of bullying is least common, such that unrelenting harassment is not the norm. This would give more credence to the conclusion (or thesis), of why curing boredom is the best solution.

-- AustinKlar - 27 Dec 2011