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One of my family members was the target of criticism and mean comments by some classmates online. The behavior had gone on for months before we knew anything about it, and her mother ended up responding to some of the girls online about their comments.
I think some of the students were more willing to say offensive things because their comments were online and not face-to-face; they didn't have to look my family member in the eye when they said them. In addition, I would guess the insults were even more hurtful to my family member because she could go online and look at them over and over. Because their audience was more widespread, the classmates created a public and permanent example of themselves. I wish my family member's mother would have spoken to them directly (instead of responding online and continuing the inappropriate audience), or rather to their parents directly.
I worry that this type of communication leads to indirect conversations (when people should be talking to each other instead of everyone else around them about an issue) and inappropriate audiences (when the door should be closed for the privacy of the people involved instead of broadcast on the Internet for others to witness). I think young children need to be taught the importance of this type of personal communication, as well as the importance of their digital footprint: what kind of reputation will their online contributions create for themselves?
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