Teenager's Beating Raises Cyberbully Fears

Parents and educators are still puzzling over how a dispute among girls got so out of hand that it ended with six Florida cheerleaders giving a high school classmate a concussion in a vicious beating. Teen bullying is nothing new but the fact that the feud started on MySpace and ended up with a video posted on You Tube highlights new worries about cyberbullying, the Lakeland Ledger writes.

Police say the vicious attack happened after "trash-talking" by the victim on MySpace. One internet expert warned that the nature of online communication can lead to intense conflicts because teens tend to post far more hurtful comments than they might say to someone's face. Resulting consequences "sometimes explode," she said. More than a third of teenagers reported being a victim of cyberbullying in a recent study. (More Florida stories.)