Although it is acknowledged here that there are numerous ways technology can be used to hurt people, this chapter focuses solely on one type of technology – that being cyberspace. “It is generally understood that cyberspace is the space generated by software within a computer that produces a virtual reality” (Whitty, 2003a, p. 343). However, an alternative view is that cyberspace existed before the Internet in the form of telephone calls. Others would even contend that the telegraph is another example of communications in cyberspace (see Whitty & Carr, 2006, for a more detailed discussion). For the purposes of this chapter cyberspace is taken to mean the Internet and SMS text messaging.

It is noteworthy that the Internet was not first set up as a communication tool. Rather it was originally set up by the U.S. Defense Department in the 1960s as a system for their workers to share data. This original system, which was called the Arpanet, soon changed as the individuals using the system quickly reshaped it to meet their personal and social needs. Friendships began to blossom online and so too did romances, which often led to face-to-face meetings and sometimes even marriage. In the early days of the Internet, scholars held much hope for this new arena. Turkle (1995), for instance, argued that cyberspace was a kind of utopia where individuals could feel free to explore their identities without judgment.