It seems like there's always a new term coming up involving computer users. Cyber Bullying is one of the latest. Many children know about it and so do school counselors. They say bullies who use the computer can be even more harmful than on the ones on the playground.

Forget the phone. Most teenagers now use keyboards for conversation but for all of the innocent instant messaging, there's another side.

"I've had someone e-mail me before and it'll say all kinds of mean stuff," one girl tells us.

Email like that can come from a Cyber Bully and Tess Larson was one of them in middle school.

She says, "I admit that when I talked to friends, I would say 'why are you mad at another friend?' And she wouldn't want to tell me and I'd say 'I'm not going to tell anyone.' She'd say some pretty mean stuff and I'd copy and paste it to the person she was mad at."

That's just one technological twist. Computers allow teens to say mean things and remain anonymous.

The message can be shared with anyone and for the teen being targeted, there's no escape. The bullying comes right into their home.

Mary Lincoln sees the affect. As a counselor with Omaha Public Schools, she saw what happened when a group inundated a girl with e-mail.

Ms. Lincoln says, "All these made up things, very sexual things that they saw her doing, and it really damaged her reputation and her self-worth just went way down."

One of the most extreme cases involves the Star Wars Kid. While goofing off at school, the Canadian teen made a video of himself practicing light saber moves. Thousands of people saw it after classmates put it online, reportedly causing the teen to drop out of school and seek counseling.

To prevent anything like that from happening, Girls Incorporated enforces technology agreements and teaches girls that their actions have consequences

Girls Inc. Executive Director Roberta Wilhelm says, "I think it tends to be a little more vicious than it is face to face or passing notes because you don't see the reaction, you don't see the person. There are things you can say if you can anonymously push the send button before you think that you wouldn't say face to face to a child."

Making matters worse, some teens say their parents have no idea what's going on

"My parents, they don't do computers," one girl tells us.

Those who do know about profiles and guest books still have to decipher the code that teens use.

One step that parents can take to guard against Internet Bullying is to make sure your home computer is in a public place and not in a child's bedroom. Then make sure you're monitoring activity.

The second step requires some work. Learn about the latest technology. Ask your kids how to Instant Message or have them show you their profile pages. You'll better understand the possibilities and you'll open up the lines of communication.

For additional information, visit the cyberbully.org Web site.