I was bullied, too, probably from the 7th through 10th grades by this jock girl who always called me a priss. She made my life a living hell, and looking back 30 years afterward the old feeling still arise. My parents were alcholics and very self-absorbed, so I had nobody to talk to.

Both of my daughters got embroiled in potential cyberbullying incidents this year, one via Facebook and one via cell phone. In both cases my husband and I cracked down, hard, fortunately with the cooperation of school officials, and luckily no retaliation has occurred.

I get so worried, as the mom of two tweens, about the effects of these social media outlets on their mental health. (My husband let my daughters set up their Facebook pages against my arguments.) It all seems to be a big popularity contest. Facebook is great for adults, IMO, but I don't think middle-schoolers should be on it. They're not mature enough. Again, that's just my opinion, don't want to offend any young people here who may indeed be mature enough to handle it.

I'm sorry you had those crappy childhood experiences, HalfSwede. I know the memories can really linger.