FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
One in 10 teenagers say
they are victims of the rise of the cyberbullies
· 'Huge problem' plaguing young at school and home
· Internet 'a gift from God' for hi-tech tormentors
BOBBIE JOHNSON, TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT
THE GUARDIAN - WEDNESDAY MARCH 15, 2006
More than one in 10 British teenagers have been victims of bullying online, according to a
survey. Figures published yesterday showed that 11% of 12 to 15 year-olds had been
harassed, bullied or victimised.
Many of the 500 teenagers surveyed said they had received threatening emails or messages,
while more than a quarter said somebody had published misleading information about them
on the web. With many teenagers using instant messaging, blogs and other websites to keep
in contact, the threat of cyberbullying is rising, say experts.
“It's a huge problem - probably even higher than these figures suggest,” says Liz Carnell of
Bullying Online (bullying.co.uk). “We get a lot of complaints of hi-tech bullying. Bullies
will exploit everything they can, and the internet is a God-given gift for them.”
Experts have seen many strains of abuse on the web, ranging from rude emails to complex
operations such as the manipulation of photos, sometimes taken secretly using mobile
phones. Schools in Hertfordshire are confronting a particularly vicious online campaign, in
which anonymous users are invited to discuss and attack named victims on website forums.
Like ordinary bullying, the online version can often be dangerous and sometimes even result
in suicide among depressed teenagers. “There's a wide spectrum when it comes to
cyberbullying, and schools do need to come up to speed,” said Mary Louise Morris of
Childnet International. “I think there are psychological implications that can make it more
disturbing than real-world bullying.”
Children attacked online will often fail to tell an adult, say experts. On top of the fear and
embarrassment prevalent in traditional bullying cases, many are also worried that parents
may simply ban them from using their computers in an attempt to solve the problem.
The research, published yesterday by Microsoft's internet portal, involved talking to 500
teenagers. It did not take into account mobile phone bullying such as text messaging, calls
and the sending of pictures. Once those are added, the problem could be far greater than
parents and schools imagine, experts said.
“This research shows that as technology has become more sophisticated, so has the way
children are bullied," said Elaine Peace of the children's charity NCH. “It is everyone's
responsibility to protect children and young people in every sphere of their lives.”
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A survey last year showed that more than half of children say bullying is a widespread
problem in their school, but the growth in online activity now allows abuse to continue even
outside school hours, meaning that victims can continue to be subjected to taunts even in the
apparent safety of their own bedrooms.
The prevalence of mobile phones among children has already led many schools to clamp
down on abusive text messages, but the growing number of homes with high-speed internet
connections means the problem is quickly spreading to new areas. A third of teenagers now
use instant messaging on a daily basis, and Microsoft claims that more than 800,000
children are regular users of its own MSN Messenger service.
Insurers have said that compensation claims against local authorities for bullying at school
have risen by 225% in the past five years. Last month 23-year-old Sophie Amor, from
Blaenavon in Wales, was awarded £20,000 after being bullied as a child.
True or false:
1. One out of 10 teenagers is the target of online abuse.
2. The internet seems to be a godsend for cyberbullies.
3. Children who are victims of cyberbullying generally count on their parents’ help.
4. Bullying is a problem which takes place only at school.
5. Mobile phones are not widespread among children.
6. Compensation claims for bullying at school have dropped by 225%.
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Gli appunti di English by a click
One in 10 teenagers say
they are victims of the rise of the cyberbullies
One in 10: "in" indicates the second and larger term of a ratio or proportion: uno su 10. Teenagers [teenager]: a person between the ages of 13 and 19; an adolescent. Il termine è formato da teen, il suffisso che caratterizza in inglese i numeri tra 13 e 19 (thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen), e age=età. Pertanto non esiste una corrispondenza esatta con un termine italiano. Rise: an increase in amount, number, or volume. Il verbo corrispondente è to rise. Cyberbullies [cyberbully]: anche il bullismo ricorre alla tecnologia per stare al passo con i tempi. Sostantivo composto da cyber + bully. Huge: . Plaguing [to plague, plagued, plaguing, plagues]: High‐tech: Bullying [to bully, bullied, bullying, bullies]: According to: Figures [figure]: enormous to afflict with or as if with a disease or calamity: affligere, tormentare, assillare. Deriva dal sostantivo plague = peste, piaga, flagello. of, relating to, or resembling high technology. to treat in an overbearing or intimidating manner, to intimidate: angariare, intimidire. as stated or indicated by. numbers. 11%: da notare che in inglese le cifre percentuali di norma non sono precedute dall'articolo come accade in italiano. 12 to 15 year‐olds: qui year‐olds diventa sostantivo: ragazzi tra i 12 e i 15 anni. ©English by a click
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Gli appunti di English by a click
One in 10 teenagers say they are victims of the rise of the cyberbullies
Harassed [to harass, harassed, harassing, harasses]: Victimised [to victimise,victimised, victimising, victimises; AE victimize]: Surveyed [to survey, surveyed, surveying, surveys]: Threatening: to irritate or torment persistently: tormentare, molestare. Il sostantivo è harassment = molestie. Sexual harassment = molestie sessuali. to make a victim of. to look over and examine closely. Il sostantivo survey può significare studio, indagine, ricerca, sondaggio. minacious. Misleading: tending to mislead; deceptive: ingannevole, fuorviante. Dal verbo to mislead [misled, misled, mesleading, misleads]: ingannare, fuorviare. Instant messaging (IM): sistema di messaggistica tramite internet. A differenza della posta elettronica permette lo scambio di messaggi in tempo reale tra due o più persone collegate al servizio nello stesso momento. Blogs [blog]: il termine deriva dalla contrazione di web (=rete) + log (diario di bordo, brogliaccio). Si tratta di un particolare tipo di siti, in genere ‐ ma non necessariamente ‐ personali, costruiti a partire da messaggi organizzati cronologicamente. Say experts: l’inversione soggetto‐verbo con il complemento oggetto a inizio frase si usa con le frasi del discorso indiretto dove l’oggetto (che può essere anche un'intera frase) rappresenta il discorso diretto e il soggetto non è un pronome personale. Questa costruzione è frequente con i verbi come to say (dire). Complaints [complaint]: an expression of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment: lamentela. Exploit [to exploit, exploited, exploiting, exploits]: ©English by a click
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to make use of selfishly or unethically: sfruttare. II
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One in 10 teenagers say they are victims of the rise of the cyberbullies
The internet: si noti che in inglese è sempre preceduto dall’articolo e si scrive ormai anche con l’iniziale minuscola. God‐given gift: dono di Dio (letteralmente "dono dato/regalato da Dio"). Strains [strain]: Abuse: Ranging from… to… [to range, ranged, ranging, ranges]: Mobile phones [mobile phone]: Are confronting [to confront, confronted,confronting,confronts]: Vicious: wicked: qui: specie, tipo. injurious or improper treatment. to vary within specified limits: variare, oscillare, andare da… a… also cellular phones. to face: affrontare. violento, brutale. Campaign: a series of military operations planned to achieve a certain goal. Result in [resulted, resulting, results]: to have as an effect: avere per risultato o portare a. To come up to speed: Real‐world: Fail [to fail, failed, failing, fails]: On top of: Ban…from [to ban, banned, banning, bans]: Attempt: Taking into account [to take, took, taken, taking, takes]: to consider: ©English by a click
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operate at maximum speed. del mondo reale. to be unsuccessful: fallire. in addition to; besides: oltre a. to prohibit. Da notare la costruzione: ban someone from using something = proibire a qualcuno di usare qualcosa/l’uso di qualcosa. the act or an instance of attempting: tentativo. prendere in considerazione, tenere conto di. III
Gli appunti di English by a click
One in 10 teenagers say they are victims of the rise of the cyberbullies
Text messaging: Sophisticated: Charity: Widespread: spread or scattered over a considerable extent: Growth in: Allows [to allow, allowed, allowing, allows]: equivale allo Short Messaging Service (SMS), ovvero i “messaggini”. very complicated, complex: sofisticato, evoluto. an institution or fund for aiding the needy: istituzione benefica, opera pia. diffuso, di vaste proporzioni. an increase, as in size, number, value, or strength; extension or expansion (in, of: di): crescita, espansione, sviluppo, aumento. to permit. Questo verbo rientra tra quelli che non possono essere seguiti da una proposizione subordinata introdotta da that. Questi verbi sono seguiti dal complemento oggetto + l’infinito: They don’t allow people to smoke (e non: They don’t allow that people smoke). Va sottolineato che in inglese è obbligatorio indicare l’oggetto. Nella frase precedente perciò è necessaria la presenza dell’oggetto (people) a cui, in questo caso, non è permesso fumare. Tra gli altri verbi che possono essere seguiti dal complemento oggetto + l’infinito ricordiamo advise, ask, expect, love, mean, need, request, tell, want, wish. Taunts [taunt]: a scornful remark or tirade; a jeer: scherno, derisione. Apparent: seeming: apparente. Attenzione perché le apparenze ingannano! Infatti apparent e l’avverbio corrispondente apparently in alcuni casi non significano apparente e apparentemente, bensì evidente ed evidentemente. Heir apparent è invece l’erede legittimo. Clamp down [to clamp, clamped, clamping, clamps]: to act in a strict and forceful manner to stop something: porre un freno. ©English by a click
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Gli appunti di English by a click
One in 10 teenagers say they are victims of the rise of the cyberbullies
Abusive: High‐speed internet connections: On a daily basis: Insurers [insurer]: ingiurioso, scurrile. Non significa abusivo che, a seconda dei casi, si può tradurre unlawful, illegal, unlicensed. connessioni a Internet ad alta velocità. tutti i giorni, quotidianamente. one that insure: assicuratore. Compensation: money that someone who has experienced loss or suffering claims from the person or organization res Claims [claim]: a demand for something due or believed to be due: richiesta. Risen by [to rise, rose, risen, rising, rises]: to increase in number, amount, or value: crescere, aumentare. La preposizione by si usa per introdurre la percentuale. Last: scorso. Last week, last month sono la settimana o il mese precedenti a quello in corso. 23‐year‐old: si tratta di una forma di aggettivazione composta in cui si antepone al sostantivo il complemento prepositivo costituito da un numero cardinale, aggettivato al singolare e tutto unito con un trattino: a girl who is thirteen years old diventa a thirteen‐year‐old girl (si noti l’uso del trattino=hyphen che contraddistingue la forma aggettivata). Awarded [to award, awarded, awarding,awards]: to give or grant as a reward: assegnare. Per gli sportivi: to award a penalty: concedere un rigore. Da notare la costruzione passiva. ©English by a click
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