Bullies have gone high tech, too, using text messages and voice mail to threaten their victims long after school is out. This type of bullying has surged over the past two years, according to Glenn Stutzky, a school-violence expert at Michigan State. “With regular bullying, kids could go home at the end of the day and find some peace,” Stutzky says. “Now, there’s no escape.” A 2002 British National Children’s Home study found that one in four children in the U.K. was bullied by cell phone or the Internet. From his experience in the field, Stutzky says, cell bullies are often middle or upper class and the majority are female. He says that girls usually prefer more subtle methods, so cell phones make the perfect bully tool.
