It's been six months since a Missouri newspaper first broke the tragic story of 13 year-old Megan Meier who committed suicide after being cyberbullied on MySpace. Her death has incited the nation to take action against cyberbullying.

Legal Updates

• Lori Drew has been indicted on conspiracy and fraud charges. If convicted, she could serve up to 20 years in federal prison.
  
• Missouri lawmakers have passed a bill outlawing cyber-harassment via computers, text messages, and other electronic devices.
  
• Several other states have passed or are considering similar laws that make cyberbullying illegal.
  

What You Should Know

• Cyberbullying cases are difficult to prosecute.
  

  Lori Drew's indictment is not without its critics. Advocates of free speech and online anonymity strongly oppose prosecuting people for creating fake online identities.
  

• School involvement is possible, but tricky.
  

  With cyberbullying taking place both in the home and at school, school administrators are having a tough time deciding where their authority begins and ends.
  

• Cyberbullying is no joke.
  

Kids can be deeply affected by bullying and when it's online for all to see, its effects are amplified. Parents and guardians need to talk openly with children about the effects of cyberbullying and work with their communities to effectively address cyberbullying wherever it occurs.

For some parents and guardians, their baby's cries are as clear as speech. A high-pitched cry means, "I'm tired," and a wailing cry means, "Feed me now!" Yet no matter how well you communicate with your kids, once they hit those teenage years, it all seems to come undone.

Take instant messaging (IM) for example. Through the use of chat acronyms like IDK and LOL teens have perfected the art of being unintelligible. However, concerned parents and guardians know that helping their children make safer and smarter online choices means talking with them and keeping an eye on new tech trends.

So what are they saying? Test your knowledge with the sample IM conversation below. If you need to read the second column, then check out some resources below to brush up on the net lingo your children may be using.

Still confused? Check out these quizzes to learn more net lingo:

Your Kids Can Fill in the Blanks. Can You?

Online Lingo

Take an Internet Safety Quiz Now

On the social networking site Facebook, every user's homepage contains a feed which looks something like this:

Sonia L. joined the group People Who Love Jane Austen 9:14 am

Marcus B. is ready for the weekend! 11: 02 am

Grace K. is engaged to Jon H. 5:46 pm

Joy Y. and Mariam G. are friends. 10: 31 pm

The feed gives you information about what actions the people on your friends' list are taking, from changes in relationship status to who else they are talking to on the site. On their home pages, your friends are shown the actions which you take in the Facebook universe as well.

In Web 2.0 where users not only download but upload content, the meaning of privacy has begun to shift so drastically that tweens and teens in particular seem to be leaning in the complete opposite direction. Not only do they share the information that they can't get around sharing, but they eagerly upload content about their lives onto the Web from pictures and videos to opinion pieces and poems. At times there seems as if there is nothing that tweens and teens won't put on the Internet – a cause of anxiety and concern among many parents and guardians who fear that unfiltered access to the lives of their teens and tweens will make them potential targets for Internet predators or cost them future educational and employment opportunities.

This concern is valid; tweens and teens should always be careful about posting too much personal information on the Web, but what constitutes too much? Should teens share about personal moments, such as a first kiss or the loss of a loved one? Is it OK for them to post pictures of themselves at the amusement park or in the school play? The debate between the younger, more wired generation and their parents and guardians about how and what is too much is destined to continue. Finding a balance may be tough but parents can start by setting boundaries with children about what information they can share, and occasionally check over their social networking sites, blogs, and pictures to ensure that they are staying within those boundaries.

If you've been keeping tabs on the news lately, you may have noticed an alarming amount of stories detailing how teens are using cell phones to send sexual messages and pictures. Some of the headlines include:

Teens engage in Sexting

Nude cell phone pics of 7^th grader circulated around school

Teen facing felony charges over nude cell phone photos

These are understandably scary headlines, but don't go running to confiscate your child's cell phone just yet. Most kids use their cell phones wisely, sometimes even in life-saving circumstances.

Unfortunately, many kids don't realize how easily information can be spread from cell phone to cell phone, and from cell phones to the Internet; a picture meant for one person can end up being sent to hundreds or thousands of people. And, once it's out there, you can't get it back. Talk to your kids about what information and images are appropriate to send.

• Set rules and limits for cell phone use, including with whom your child may communicate and how long he or she may talk
  
• Review cell phone records for any unknown numbers and late night phone calls and texts
  
• Teach your child never to reveal cell phone numbers online
  
• Talk to your child about the possible consequences of sending sexually explicit images, including charges of possession and distribution of child pornography
  

Remind them that exploring their sexuality via technology is never a good idea. And if the above headlines are scaring you too much, remember that cell phones are just tools—the conversations you have now with your kids are what will determine how these tools are used.