The emergence of a new website based in America, but very popular with Australian teenagers, is causing great concern among Cyber safety experts. The site FormSpring.Me allows people to leave anonymous messages about other people. Since its inception last November it has gained a following of 12 million members worldwide.

Users create accounts which can be liked to both Twitter and Facebook. Users can also now access the website through their mobile phones, allowing them to access contacts and send anonymous, and if they wish, abusive messages from wherever they might be.

The site also allows users to post questions and write responses anonymously. It is that anonymity that is encouraging cyber bullies, experts said.

Former cyber-safety project officer with the Victoria Police and Generation Next speaker Susan McLean said “it’s becoming problematic – more people are joining it and more people are abusing it”.  She added kids don’t go there to be positive, the only thing that they use it for is to wreak havoc on someone else’s life.”

The website describes itself as a way to use “fun, conversational Q&A” to “help you express yourself and learn more about the people you care about”. The site also has Cyber-bullying guidelines but they are obviously being ignored by many of the users.

It says:
“Be respectful. Using Formspring to bully, attack, harass or threaten others will not be tolerated in our community. Cyber-bullying is a criminal offense in many places, and we will work with local authorities to track down abusive accounts through IP addresses or other means if harassment is found.”

Ms McLean said she has dealt with many calls by concerned parents and teachers and also by teenagers who have received distressing messages through the website.

“A year 8 girl had set up this horrendous … chat, where everyone was saying ‘Katie’s a fat pig, Sarah’s a slut,’ all that sort of stuff,” said Ms McLean.

In America FormSpring.Me has been linked to at least one suicide, with 17-year-old Alexis Pilkington killing herself as a result of several hurtful messages about her were posted.

In Australia Sydney teenager Teagan Christodoulou, said she was invited to set up a FormSpring.Me account through social networking site Facebook.

“Five weeks later a girl started saying really nasty things about me,” she said.

“Teagan is a backstabbing slut,” read one of the anonymous posts.

“It was upsetting. I always thought I was pretty much friends with everyone,” Teagan said.

Writer Helen Splarn. Editor Dr Ramesh Manocha.
Source: Herald Sun. FormSpring.Me website