AOL first introduced Instant Messenger in 1997 as part of their dial-up connection to the World Wide Web. Instant messaging people became a huge hit, because it was faster than email and encouraged people to stay online and chat while their phone line was being used for the internet. Over the years, AOL Instant Messenger turned into AIM and you didn't need AOL to access it. It became faster, larger, smarter, and better.
Chat rooms became accessible for people who wanted to talk to people with similar interests, and online computers with witty responses was an easy form of entertainment. However, instant messenger became a target for online predators to reach their target, due to people innocently talking to people online. It was easier for people to find out where people lived, and people hiding behind a computer were more confident and more willing to open up. So while online predators became a risk online, so did online bullying.
Bullying today is not the same old song and dance. It is not just stealing lunch money and pushing kids into lockers. Now people are going hiding behind their computers and sending horrible messages to their peers. Since the rise of online bullying, the impact on people of all ages has driven people to extreme measures, some even suicide. One story that sticks out for me is when a mother signed on to a fake online profile and tortured a girl that was in her daughter's class. The poor girl committed suicide after the mother's torture became too much for her. This has became a huge online problem over the past 10 years. People hiding behind their computers are more willing to be cruel than someone in person.
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