Get All Access for $5/mo

In South Korea, Parents to Be Alerted When Kids Receive Texts With Curse Words Aiming to clamp down on cyber bullying, the South Korean government will introduce a service that notifies parents if their children receive a text containing foul language.

By Geoff Weiss

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Shutterstock

South Korea's quest to become the most wired nation on the planet has come at an irretrievable cost to the country's digital-addicted youth.

Whereas internet detox boot camps started opening their doors to hooked teens as far back as 2007, several South Korean gamers have reportedly died from organ failure due to uninterrupted play for days on end. In one tragically twisted case, a married couple became so deeply immersed in a game about taking care of a virtual infant that their actual baby starved to death.

It's no surprise that within this hotly-connected landscape, cyberbullying is proliferating at alarming rates -- particularly via instant-message. A new form of intimidation has even infiltrated South Korea's schools: "cyber imprisonment," whereby tormenters invite their victims into a chat room and harass them within the confines there.

Related: Gangnam: The Silicon Valley of South Korea

And so the South Korean government is clamping down: a brand new service will notify parents whenever their children receive text messages containing curse words. The country's ministry of education told The Wall Street Journal that the initiative would be operational in July.

Sadly, cyber bullying is no stranger to American shores, where a rash of suicides in recent years has brought the issue to the national forefront. These bold "treps even raised $10 million in funding for SocialShield, a platform that monitors kids' online activity.

Given that broadband access in America (68.2 percent of all households) is vastly dwarfed by that of South Korea (a staggering 97.5 percent), is it possible that a similar initiative could benefit American teens, too?

Let us know your thoughts -- sound off in the comments below.

Related: Telltale Signs You Have a Workplace Bully

Geoff Weiss

Former Staff Writer

Geoff Weiss is a former staff writer at Entrepreneur.com.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Side Hustle

This Former Starbucks Employee Started a Side Hustle That's Making More Than $70,000 a Month — and He's Not Done Yet

When Tom Saar moved to New York City, he spotted a lucrative business opportunity.

Business News

Is One Company to Blame for Soaring Rental Prices in the U.S.?

The FBI recently raided a major corporate landlord while investigating a rent price-fixing scheme. Here's what we know.

Business News

Amazon Has a Blank Book Problem: Buyers Report Receiving Fakes of Bestselling UFO Book

The book looked fine on the outside, but the inside was out-of-this-world.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

Paramount Leadership Alludes to Layoffs If Merger Does Not Go Through

Paramount is awaiting approval on its merger with Skydance Media from majority shareholder Shari Redstone.

Marketing

6 SEO Tips to Help You Rank in the New Era of Quality Content

What is the best SEO strategy after Google's March 2024 core update? Here's what you need to know.