Cyberbullying is something that sounds harmless on the surface. What people forget is that words cause the most psychological damage. Cuts and bruises heal. The scars from words last forever. But, what is Cyberbullying, exactly?
Cyberbullying is defined as the use of e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms, pagers, cell phones, or other forms of information technology to deliberately harass, threaten, or intimidate someone. As you might have already guessed it is bullying set to the computer age.
Unfortunately, this type of bullying is far worse than it used to be when I was a kid. People were mean then, but there is one glaring difference between then and now; the words that people spoke about me and every other kid in class hurt. Sometimes, they hurt like hell. No one ever hung themselves though because of what was said in the hallway. If my assumption is correct, based on what I remember as a teen, we’d come home, cry, vent, and prepare for the next day. We never tried to die because of the words that were said. These days things are different.
Bullying still goes on in schools and in social circles and now it’s also moved to SMS (text) messages, Facebook, Myspace, and other social websites around the Internet. Some truly inventive people even make websites promoting their hatred for other kids. They call them names, make fake names to torment other kids, and in some cases they become other people just to laugh in someone’s face the first chance they get. In response, more and more children are committing suicide because it’s the only way for them to be free.
As adults, as educators, as compassionate human beings we all need to ask ourselves…When is enough going to be enough?
Take a look at the names, ages, and stories of some of the kids that were victims of bullying that couldn’t take it anymore.
Ryan Patrick Halligan: Age 13 – According to reports Halligan had some developmental delays, but was an otherwise good kid. While he handled his delays as best he could, he couldn’t handle the physical and Internet taunting or the rejection from a woman that “liked” him online and laughed in his face when she finally confronted him in person. Ryan died at age 13 in 2003.
Megan Meier: Age 13 – Meier was taunted on Myspace by a local neighbor girl’s mother who created the identity of a boy and befriended Meier only to lead her on, as this boy, and eventually tell her horrible things to cause her pain. Meier responded to the public and private harassment by committing suicide in 2008. The mother, Lori Drew was accused criminally for her part in Meier’s demise, but only received a misdemeanor despite her role in the bullying.
Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover: Age 11 – Carl was a young boy that liked playing football. He was in sixth grade. Apparently a lot of children liked to tease him and call him names. One of their favorite taunts was about Carl being gay (even if he was, he never said that). This harassment caused Carl to hang himself. Carl committed suicide in April 2009 at 11 years old.
Phoebe Prince: Age 15 – Prince was picked on for having an Irish accent and for being pretty enough to catch the attention of one of the members of the football team. She was bullied in and out of school, ultimately causing her suicide. Phoebe’s attackers are being charged with statutory rape, stalking, and criminal harassment, among other things. All of this led to Phoebe hanging herself in January 2010.
Alexis Pilkington: Age 17 – Committed suicide due to social networking bullying on sites like Facebook and Formspring.me. Even after Alexis’ death, people continued to leave messages that would have hurt the beautiful, young girl. Alexis ended her life in March 2010.
The National Youth Violence Prevention Center states that in Middle and High School grades at least 13% of students admit to bullying someone and as many as 11% (most likely many more that didn’t admit it) were bullied by other students. The number one reason for a bully to try and harm someone physically or emotionally is that they do not feel the person they are picking on fits in.
The result of bullying leads the children being picked on to become insecure and anxious. These kids often suffer from forms of low self-esteem and rarely, if ever attempt to defend themselves because if they hear these things enough they begin to wonder if they are true. This leads to severe isolation and withdrawal, and in some cases that leads to suicide.
Technorati Tags: Cyberbullying, Bully, High School, Middle School, Megan Meier, Alexis Pilkington, Phoebe Prince
Written by Ashtyn Evans – Visit Website
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Ashtyn is in her early 30s. She is a mother, writer, college student, and music lover. Ashtyn has had a successful career as a writer since 2003. She turned to blogging in 2005. Ashtyn attends Wright State where she is getting a degree in Psychology. She has extensive knowledge in SEO and Social Media Development.
Thank you for raising awareness of this. Too many people still dismiss bullying as normal childhood behavior.