Blocking Out The Bullies

There have been a number of articles recently about the troubles some kids have been having from "text messaging bullies" who can continue to bully them anywhere, at any time. However, as with any misuse of technology, eventually, along comes another technology to solve the problem. The BBC is reporting that carriers may soon start offering a text message blocking service. All you do is register the number of someone who is bullying you, and... no more text messages get through. Yes, this is a simple and obvious filter, but it sounds necessary. Until SMS spammers get good at hiding where they're coming from, I can see it being useful for them as well. Of course, just like spam, more serious "harassers" will figure out ways around the filter and will disguise where they're coming from. Still, it's a start. The company that created the tools to do this say they're also working on a "parental monitoring service" that would automatically copy the parent on any text message sent to their child's phone. I can imagine just how horrifying such a service would be for any kid who had it - and it would almost certainly prevent them from giving out their number to anyone. I'm sure plenty of messages that get sent via SMS are not the sort of things any kid wants his or her parents to be reading.