A Queensland woman has been forbidden from using any social media by a judge after she posted nude photos of another woman on Facebook.
Courtney Marie Mulkentine, 19, of Gympie, pleaded guilty to using an electronic carriage service to harass or offend on January 26, reports the Gympie Times.
The court heard that Mulkentine had been sent the lewd photos by the other woman’s ex boyfriend and only took the pictures down after the victim called and confronted her.
According to reports, Magistrate M Baldwin said that the issue of cyber bullying was serious and could prompt self-harm and suicide.
“If you want to use social media, you do it responsibly,” she said.
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“What would you do if the girl had gone and killed herself? We don’t know what else is going on in her life (that may have led to a crisis for the victim).”
Mulkentine was placed on six months probation, with a condition that she was not to use Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and any other social platform “some geek comes up with”.
“Don’t try to use another account or a false name,” said the judge. “Someone will dob you.”
Ms Baldwin added: “It might be the best six months of your life. You won’t have to look at your phone every five minutes.”
The verdict will no doubt please those who advocate for victims of cyberbullying.
According to Queensland Government 91 per cent of Australian teens age 14-17 get on the Internet at least once a week, mainly to check social media sites like Facebook.
Of those who reported being bullied, 83 per cent said they were cyberbullied by people that they not only knew personally, but who they considered to be their friends.
These statistics further add to evidence that cyberbullying is extremely dangerous to the mental health of young people who may fall victim to long term mental suffering, as well as suicidal thoughts and actions.
