HOWZAT

For children’s charities and schools, online bullying has become an area of increasing concern. In Norfolk the county council has banned access to Bebo in every school, while in other areas head teachers have spent thousands of pounds on monitoring systems.

Chris Cloke, head of child protection at the NSPCC, said: “It’s a completely unregulated world out there. I’d compare it to a modern-day Lord of the Flies. Children say things that are much more extreme and vindictive than they would in their everyday lives.”

Others welcome the new websites, arguing that the bullying that occurs on them has simply been transferred from the school gates and would happen anyway.

Dr Rachel O’Connell, head of the internet research unit at Central Lancashire University, hailed the boom of social networking as a “cultural revolution”. “The possibilities are extraordinary. It’s a very positive thing for children and a fantastic creative outlet.

“There are concerns about cyber-bullying, but for most children this is a very exciting and immersive technology.”

Who is right? Are social networking sites exacerbating bullying or merely mirroring the cut and thrust of the school playground?

Parents thinking of sneaking a peep into one of the new sites should prepare themselves for a shock: it’s like entering a parallel universe.

Teenage girls fill their pastel pink and blue home pages with provocative pictures of themselves and schoolyard gossip, while boys boast about drinking feats (real and imagined) on pages festooned with pneumatic babes and cars. Evry1 tlks n txt, init. And all — almost without exception — are obsessed with sex.

“I’m sexy, I’m cute! I’m popular to boot! I’m bitchin’, great hair! The boys all love to stare,” announces Sarie, aged 14, in London.

Tom, 13, from Hull, is similarly confident: “I have blond hair blue eyes and have the capability 2 sweep any girl off there feet uless there stuck up sooo check me out sexy!!”

According to Sonia Livingstone, a professor in social psychology at the London School of Economics, the sites provide a “window on youth culture”. “Most of what they’re doing is fun and innocuous: it’s teenagers being teenagers,” she said.

“It can also provide a space for them to discuss things they couldn’t otherwise, like their sexuality or health issues.”

Explore Tech & Web

• Personal Tech

• The Web

• Gadgets & Gaming