Death by Bullying

Introduction

As technology continues to grow throughout the world, the internet is not only becoming a major economic and social tool but a weapon as well. Many children have been exposed to online bullying and have fallen victim to feelings of depression and suicidal thoughts because of it. The disastrous part of online bullying is the lack of evidence. If a child or teenager being victimized doesn’t come forward about it, then nothing can be seen and nothing can be done about it. There are no charges to be pressed and thus no charges by bullies to be faced.

Although major campaigns have been made to face down the lack of awareness that makes online bullying an easy thing to encounter, it is still an extremely high risk behavior. Preventatives have also been implemented in many school systems to try and decrease bullying altogether. Being the 21st century, preventative action must be taken to ensure that the safety and mental health of any child or teenager is protected. Technology allows for a much broader field of knowledge in kids this day in age, and exposes them to much more information at a younger age. This can be detrimental to their future as well as supplemental. It is a rabid tug of war that goes on between the two and the technological process must be slowed down before it causes more damage to the youth.

The most upsetting consequence, if action is not taken to stop online bullying, is the suicide of teenagers, children, and even young adults. The most unfortunate part of this new face of bullying is the fact that there are no consequences for any type of fatality or injury it may cause. Online bullying is the key factor in many deaths, and not just suicide but victims have lashed out as well, causing some of the most horrific tragedies to strike. Online bullying remains one of the most ferocious acts and increases the risky behavior of those who are doing the attacking, as well as those being attacked.

Classifying Online Bullying

The classifications of bullying are quite broad, involving many different scenarios. However, online bullying has a very definitive definition, as Stopbullying.gov (2011) explains it as

“bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites. Examples of cyberbullying include mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.”

Although the last statement seems to cover the basic areas of online bullying, there is much to be derived from the definition. The repercussions of this vile nature outlast many of the victims it mars and may even cause detrimental damage to them down the road. The cost of online bullying is far too high for there to be no consequences for the bullies. As kids each day try to take their own lives because of the terrible betrayal of others, families must go on living, knowing that something could have been done to prevent the death of their child.

Effects of Online Bullying

Online bullying, or cyberbullying, can cause a slew of unwanted emotions from the victims. As Jennifer N. Caudle explains to The American Osteopathic Association (2013) “Kids that are bullied are likely to experience anxiety, depression, loneliness, unhappiness, and poor sleep,” Whether its anxiety, stress, sleep deprivation, or depression, the list goes on and on and it seems endless. The negative effects that bullying has on children is far more extreme than in adults, but in adolescents is where it seems to be the most prevalent. Perhaps this is because of how many cases there have been of teenage suicides due to online bullying. According to Bullying Statistics (2013) “Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University.” This confirms that the suicide rate for bullied victims is sky rocketing, especially once technology is added into the equation.

The type of bullying being discussed is obviously online bullying, and so it must be taken into consideration that the people most affected by it are people who are in school and are constantly involved in the social networking scene. Websites such as Facebook and Twitter, have completely taken over the internet. They dominate the social networking scene, allowing millions of people to view private information about others. This allows for all different types of scenarios to occur that diminish self esteem and increase anxiety and depression.

Anxiety can be felt even before bullying occurs. The lifestyle of a teenager can be extremely overwhelming in general, never mind adding technology into the scenario. The anxiety of an adolescent occurs even more so when bullying is inflicted upon them. The idea that someone is verbally harassing another person and can continue to harass them anywhere, at any point in time is deeply disturbing. Not only does the victim not know when the next time they will be bullied is, but it ignites a fear in them that causes this anxiousness because they are always wondering when the next time will be. What makes cases like these more disturbing, is the fact that they occur in the home. So not only does the person feel victimized, they feel this way in their own home. That means there is no safe haven for them and nowhere to go to ensure a feeling of freedom or somewhere to get away from it.

Preventing Online Bullying

Preventing online bullying seems like a difficult task to take on, and though it certainly can be a bit more tricky than monitoring other activities, it is a necessity in the 21st century. Taking preventative action could result in a decrease of suicides and suicide attempts by adolescents. Unfortunately this is the hardest part of the problem, because parents are too afraid to get involved in their kids lives. A lot of parental figures try to be a friend to their kids rather than a parent, but monitoring a child online that is under the age of eighteen should become a major priority for parents. The ability to see what social networks they are working with and what other types of online interactions could make the difference between a life and death situation.

As it goes, the most suggested prevention tips are monitoring children, using privacy settings, and teaching children how to properly use the internet as well as respect it and others who are using it as well. Promote Prevent (2013) suggests something called digital footprints, ensuring that “Once they are part of a digital footprint, these comments and images are permanent, even if you make efforts to delete them.” This should ease the minds of parents, as they would have proof should some horrific event take place, such as a suicide. Once a parent takes steps in prevention, it should help put them in better mental health simply because they’re at least trying to prevent something from happening.

Not only should parents be involved but because almost everyone is involved in social networking at this time, it seems that everyone should keep an eye out for one another. As well as signs of suicide, which can involve the onset of depression.

Teenage Tragedies Caused by Online Bullying

There are many tragedies that have been documented that refer to online bullying as the main reason for it. Dating all the way back to the Columbine shooting in Littleton, Colorado, signs of bullying seemed to be the first and foremost question on investigators minds. Though the internet was certainly nowhere close to where it is today in terms of social networking, the idea of bullying was deeply ingrained in this situation. This should be taken into consideration considering how limited internet access was when this tragedy occurred and bullying was still cited as the main motive.

Another story that was very publicized was the story of Megan Meir, a young girl who was bullied online by a neighbors mother pretending to be a young love interest for Meir. Unfortunately there was no evidence that held strong enough to persecute the woman who did it and so no harm no foul. Although it did stimulate a more investigative look, as Keen (2008) wrote “Fortunately, the Meier suicide is making officials get more serious about holding anonymous Internet users accountable. In Los Angeles, federal prosecutors were reportedly exploring whether they could charge Drew with defrauding Beverly Hills-based MySpace.” No matter what reprimands are made though, Megan Meir will never come back to life, and that should stand as reason enough to implement laws for this category of crime.

Consequences of Online Bullying

The excessive amount of freedom that a bully has is overwhelming and they can take it to any extreme that they want. Whether it be pushing someone to actually kill themselves, enticing them with remarks, or e-mailing the victim with brutal intent, the list is long and usually the victim gives in. The other factor is that bullying online is uncontrollable in the sense of time. It can happen at any time during the day or night and can affect someone’s life gravely. The consequences of online bullying have the same impact as they would if it were bullying in person. Whether the bullying pushes the victim into overwhelming anxiety, depression, or frustration, each one can have fatal outcomes.

Bullying online gives the bully something to hide behind, which can make it difficult to point the finger at any direct person. As seen in the case of Meir, consequences are rarely seen because there is literally nothing that can be done. More importantly if something were to be done, freedom of speech would come into play and roll over every defense.

Statistically, there can be no guarantee that a suicide is based off of any one thing, unless someone leaves hard evidence that the specific reason they killed themselves is because of a certain person bullying them. This seems to be one of the major problems and a law that could find its way around the lack of evidence made available for online bullying cases would certainly be advantageous.

Conclusion

In wrapping up such a morbid topic, the effects of online bullying should be taken extremely serious. The consequences and repercussions that are felt after a suicide can never be forgotten and it is an unhealthy situation for each party involved. There is guilt for allowing something like that to happen and guilt for not preventing it. In the case of suicides based upon online bullying, there can never be an immediate end to it or a promise of justice once it’s done, but as a community and as decent human beings the world needs to try to prevent unnecessary deaths from occurring just because someone doesn’t believe there is a way out. The most grotesque part of it all, is that the victim feels like they have no way out because of another human being that they have never probably even seen before.

References

American Osteopathic Association. (2013). Cyber Bullying and its Effect on Our Youth. 1.

Bullying Statistics. (n.d.). Bullying and Suicide. Retrieved from http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-and-suicide.html

Keen, A. (2008). Douse the Online Flamers. Los Angeles Times, 1.

Promote Prevent. (2013). Prevent Cyberbullying, 1.

What is Cyberbullying. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved from. http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html