Here’s an interesting and consistent finding from research on bullying. When it takes place in urban areas, it’s easier to escape because the victim often has options when it comes to avoiding harassment: Different schools, different social groups, different neighborhoods. In rural areas, there aren’t nearly as many options. As Maria Konnikova explains in The New Yorker, the Internet has created the ultimate homepage on the range: “In some ways, when it comes to bullying, the Internet has made the world more rural. Before the Internet, bullying ended when you withdrew from whatever environment you were in. But now, the bullying dynamic is harder to contain and harder to ignore.”