In general, I'm suspicious of hysteria surrounding how kids use the latest technology--nine times out of ten, they just do the same things kids have always done, but in a more high tech way. However, I'm a little torn as to whether social networking sites are bringing changes to interactions on middle and high school campuses. The Washington Post had one piece on a few fights that started on Facebook, and later became physical confrontations, prompting the principal to ask parents to monitor their kids online. 

Frankly, that doesn't seem much different than an argument starting in any off-campus physical space. But Facebook and MySpace have brought some changes to bullying. See, it used to be only the kids with social or physical power over other kids could do big-time bullying. But now, kids can post things about classmates anonymously, and that stuff can spread quickly across a campus. In some ways I suppose it creates more equal opportunities for cruelty, but I have to tell you, nowadays many kids who gets seriously picked on find some of the worst stuff comes from webpages that can be viewed by tons of people. Trust me, we'll be hearing about this one for a while to come.