'Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.'

Sadly, the saying we learned as children is simply not true in today's era of text messaging, social media and the Internet.

A child's world is small: home, family, school and friends. That safe bubble can now easily be burst through a few clicks of a keyboard. An electronic whisper campaign of text messages that spreads nasty rumors or an unflattering photograph posted on a Facebook page for the entire school to see can devastate a child, ruin his or her reputation and, in some very sad cases, result in suicide.

According to Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchi, national experts and co-directors of the Cyberbullying Research Center, cyberbullying is the willful and repeated harm inflicted through electronic media. Here are some disturbing numbers.

In a study of 4,000 12- to 18-year-olds, about 20 percent of students reported experiencing cyberbullying in their lifetime.

In an online survey of 655 13- to 18-year-olds, approximately one in 10 teens admitted to cyberbullying someone online or by text message.

In another study of 2,000 middle-schoolers, the targets and perpetrators of both on- and off-line bullying were about 1.5 to 2 times more likely to have attempted suicide than their peers who were not involved in bullying incidents.

The epidemic need not go unchecked. Parents should play an active role in their children's online lives. Teachers should do their part to stay informed about cyberbullying and to create safe classroom environments. Perpetrators of bullying and harassment should face real-world consequences for their actions. And state legislators need to finally pass legislation that will provide increased protections to targets of bullying, consequences for perpetrators, and training for educators.

In 2009, the Texas Legislature came very close to passing legislation expanding the definition of bullying to include bullying by electronic means.

Among other measures, the legislation would have provided for increased protection for the targets of cyberbullying, including the transfer of a person who engages in bullying behavior to a different classroom or campus — rather than disrupting the lives of those who have been targeted by having them relocate.

The legislation also would have required that parents of both the target of bullying and the alleged perpetrator be notified when an incident occurs.

It also would have required the Texas Education Agency to maintain statistics on bullying incidents. This legislation would have been an important first step toward creating safer schools and improving the educational environment in the classroom.

Fortunately, the Legislature has another opportunity to adopt this important legislation—and make it even stronger—during the next legislative session.

Families, teachers, faculty and legislators have a responsibility to get educated and engaged on this critical issue now. A child's well-being and even his or her life depends on it.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.