In+Schools

= Text Messaging "Cheating" =

Cheating in school used to mean writing on your hand, or passing notes during an exam. In recent years, text messaging has had an impact on students academically by creating an easier way to cheat on exams. In December 2002, a dozen students were caught cheating on an accounting exam through the use of text messages on their mobile phones.In the same year, Hitotsubashi University in Japan failed 26 students for receiving e-mailed exam answers on their mobile phones.The number of students caught using mobile phones to cheat on exams has increased significantly in recent years. In England, 287 school and college students were excluded from exams in 2004 for using mobile phones during exams. Some teachers and professors claim that advanced texting features can lead to students cheating on exams. = Bullying via Text = Spreading rumors and gossip by text is also an issue of great concern in schools. Text bullying of this sort can cause distress and damage reputations.Text bullying is sending mean, embarrassing, untrue, or hurtful message to or about someone using cell phone text messaging. This can also include sexting, or sending sexually suggestive text messages to someone or about someone. Harding and Rosenberg (2005) argue that the urge to forward text messages seems difficult to resist, describing text messages as "loaded weapons". Text bullying and harassment is when someone gets sent threatening, mean or offensive TXT or PXT messages from another person. It can happen to anyone who uses a mobile phone and is common after a relationship break up and amongst school age children. Many people who are bullied through text do not feel comfortable talking with others about the harassment. However, talking with someone can help. This happens to people more often than we think.

There are several factors that can make text bullying more damaging than traditional bullying for both the victim and the bully:

 * It can happen 24 hours a day, even at home, which is usually a refuge from bullying
 * Text bullies are often more cruel because they don't have to see their victims
 * The victims may not know who is sending the messages, which can be frightening
 * Teens may think text bullying is anonymous and that they can't get caught. They also may use someone else's phone to send the messages
 * Text bullying can often be traced, however, and the bully, as well as his or her parents, can face criminal penalties as a result
 * Victims often respond by sending mean messages back to the bully, becoming bullies themselves
 * Sexting is against the law and can result in child pornography charges for the sender or senders even if they are minors
 * Text bullying doesn't necessarily go away. It may get passed around and it can end up where someone, like a potential boss, will see it in the future. This can harm the victim further, and can be even more damaging for the bully, who may miss out on job opportunities because of the text messages they sent

Text bullying can have many negative repercussions for the victim: [[image:edt280-texting/text bullying.jpg align="right"]]

 * Depression
 * Anxiety
 * Social withdrawal
 * Violence
 * Suicide

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