Brand Turley Controversy: Teenage Suicide And Cyberbullying

Bullying is one of the leading causes in teen suicide today. People bullied in the past or present have been studied and it has shown that they have a lower quality of life. Though they have a lower quality of life, the have better physical and mental health. (“Seaman” 1). Studies have shown that most bullying happens in middle school and high school. There is bullying in elementary school but it is minimal and less serious (“Bullying Statistics” 1). Most kids refuse to speak up while being bullied in fear that the bully will just taunt them more (“Cyber-Safety Act” 2). Bullying has become a very serious issue regarding our society today.

Similar to other forms of bullying, cyberbullying can cause a victim to loss of focus on activities, school, family and friends,and can even lead to suicide. According to statistics reported by ABC News “nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying in some way, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying”(Webster). Due to the fear of going to school, teenagers lose focus on activities important to them and can even lose focus on their future, such as college. According to statistics about bullying in general, “Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it”(Webster). Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem; however, being bullied in any way can lead to the feeling of loneliness and hopelessness and the laws set in place does not help victims hurt feelings go away. Cyberbullying is not a victimless crime and with these statistics multiple laws have been set into place to prevent bullying; however, there are minimal laws to protect victims of

“A 14-year-old girl in treatment for depression, reported that she was being bullied in school. She said that girls in her classes constantly made negative comments about her appearance, dress, and behavior. They excluded her from social activities despite her desire to participate. She said that the girls were telling lies about her to boys in the class, which was damaging her reputation. What upsets her the most was that an online site had been created in which students were encouraged to write all the reasons they hated her. She cried and said that she could not avoid the bullying even outside of school. She believed the only way to escape the bullying was to not exist anymore, and she confirmed that she was suicidal.”(Karen 2016) Bullying at the age of 13-19 increases the rate of depression, anxiety, suicide, and other mental health issues. Bullying is plaguing teens across the United States and is causing possible mental health issues later in victims’ lives. Each local community needs to take action to dull the effects bullying has on teens.

According to Bulent Dilmac, “bullying is defined as aggression with the intention of hurting (Kepenekci & Çınkır, 2003) and is an anti-social form of behavior that produces negative consequences (Taylor, 2006).” “Cyberbullying is defined as the repetitive use of information and communication technologies by an individual or a group in order to hurt other individuals. (Akbaba & Eroǧlu, 2013).” There have been several cases where cyberbullying causes teenagers to take their own life’s (commit suicide). It can cause individuals to suppress negative emotions within them. Lowering their self-esteem and looking at life with a sense of hopelessness. Jessica Laney was a victim of cyberbullying when she was insulted on social media.

Many bullying scenarios have resulted in self harm or even suicide. Just this past June, a girl in Tampa, Florida, committed suicide because of a friend taking a naked picture of her without her permission and shared it on social media. A reporter from Channel 8 News, quotes a psychiatrist, Dr. Walter Afield: “Teenagers are very nasty to each other because they’re so nervous and so forth.When they bully, well you can yell, you can shout, you can shoot back but when it comes on the internet so quickly and so instantly and all around. It gets very aggressive.” 15-year-old was found dead by her aunt from a gunshot in her

In a high school in Colorado two senior students Dylan Keloid and Eric Harris made an extensive plan to attack and kill students and teachers. Through their actions 12 people were killed and 24 were injured. In the end both students committed suicide. After this shooting much thought was but into why it happened, and how to prevent it from happening again. Idea such as movies and video games were brought into the forefront of discussion (Ross 2014). Bullying was also in question but many pushed it aside saying that the bully’s had graduated the year before (Ross 2014). These people who did not believe that bullying was a part of the cause did not take into consideration the mental effect bullying has nor the amount of bullying that goes unknown to others (Ross 2014). Students told authorities that the two boys had been harassed by many students and athletes throughout high school (Ross 2014). Authorities also found out that the school was notorious for turning a blind eye to bullying (Ross 2014). Though there were many other influences in the decision the boys made bullying was a major contributor to their mental health and view of the

There has been about 4,400 deaths a year do to suicide. Suicide can be caused by many things. A person can be pushed to suicide, if they are bullied and/or deeply depressed.

“Nationwide, one out of four students from the ages twelve to eighteen have been bullied. That is twenty five percent to the teenage/young adult population and these numbers are continuously to rise every day” (Wassdorp, Bradshaw, and Leaf 116, 149-156). Bullying is the action of repeated harmful acts or harassing another in various forms. Many situations fall under one or even multiple of these categories: physical, verbal, indirect, and cyber. What this does is strips the victim down from their identity and leaves them to pity themselves for being the way they are. Bullying is an issue in this nation because it tears apart the teenage/young adult population, and it is causing an increase in risk of suicide among these groups. Bullying is

Bullying has become a major issue in the United States and around the world. What brought the attention to people about bullying is the number of suicides that are committed by adolescents and the stories they share online or live television. Bullying is categorized to be direct verbal, direct physical, and indirect forms. Not every person has an idea how terrible bullying can be and how harmful it is to the victim. Bullying has driven students to commit actions they have never done before such as cutting themselves, suicidal thoughts, health disorders, and bad behavior. Bullying must be taken seriously, because it results in negative effects on its victims and may drive students to commit horrific actions. Lawmakers should draft anti-bullying legislation, students should stand up for one another, and society should work out what can be done to combat this problem.

In the article Big Bad Bully by Hara Estroff Marano she discusses the main components of behavior that make up a bully, who can be a bully and why people choose to bully others. In the beginning of the article she focuses on suicide victims who could no longer take the mental, physical and emotional abuse of bullying. Marano (2017), “Months later, in Cherokee County, Georgia, 15-year-old Brian Head grew tired of the same teasing and deeds. The denouement was only slightly more remarkable. He shot himself to death—in front of his classmates. He walked to the front of the classroom and pulled the trigger.” The same teasing and deeds Marano is speaking of is being tripped in the hall, various name calling and being physically bullied. The article goes into depth of how the Western society treats bullying. We are prone to often dismiss bullying as kids being kids and, teachers are in denial that any such behavior exist in their class. However, the sad truth is that more times than not there is always a classroom bully. Because we often overlook the severity of bullying choosing to close our eyes we get a harsh reality when someone commits suicide. It forces us to acknowledge the hard truth with open eyes that we have chosen to close for too long.

A lot of teens commit suicide due to bullying because it makes them feel unwanted and lonely. When everyone is picking on them they feel like they have no friends, and no one to turn to or talk to. Also kids and high school tend not think long term and don’t look at the bigger picture. An example of this in Hamlet is when Ophelia drowns herself in the river because she thinks Hamlet doesn’t want her and that he doesn’t love her. Another example although its not in hamlet a transgender teen in Texas committed suicide because she was bullied every day at school and hated going to school as a result of that. Eventually she committed suicide because it had gotten so bad. Also, now with social media being as popular as it is almost everyone has a twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. so that could allow people to harass them on there or commit

Suicide is the act or an instance of taking one’s own life voluntarily, a person who kills herself intentionally. In fact suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds and at least 90% of teens who kill themselves have some type of mental problem. Suicides among young people continue to be a serious problem. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for children. School bullying statistics in the United States show that one in four kids in the U.S. are bullied on a regular basis. A student is being or victimized when he or she is exposed negative action on the part of one or more student. Bullying remains one of the largest problems in school with the percentage of students,over most 13 million American kids, will be bullied this year. Noticeable effects of bullying are ongoing sadness, withdrawal from others, reckless behavior, rejecting to eat & lack of sleep. According to suicide prevention resource center, cyberbullying is a new way of communication through social media and texting to hatrass and cause emotional harm to victims. Suicide is clearly influenced by bullies.

Bullying is the cause of many suicides and deaths (Home n. pag). In McCormack’s article, he explains how many students are bullied each day and harassed to the point where they question their own self-esteem. They are no longer

I am writing this essay as I have been extremely moved by the recent suicide of a teenage girl in Ireland. Erin Gallagher a 13 year old girl from Donegal took her own life because of vicious online bullying. Her recent suicide adds to the growing number of teenage suicides not just in Ireland but worldwide that have been caused by bullying and cyber bullying or a combination of both. The issue of cyber bullying is something that needs to be addressed immediately both in the home and in schools. UNICEF carried out a study on bullying in Ireland and the results were staggering to say the least. 55% of children questioned admitted to being bullied in one form or another (Changing the Future, 2010). This

Experience of being a victim of bullying can finally damage the mental health of students and motivate them to commit school violence. "According to statistics in two-thirds of cases of the recent school shootings, the attackers had previously been bullied" (Sampson, 2009, p.1). For most children learning process itself may already be a daily struggle and being a target for bullying at the same time can become "the straw that broke the camel's back", after which they consider suicide as the only possible solution. "A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying" (Detlor, 2010). So, due to the fact that problem of bullying negatively affects students' learning ability, their health and the entire school climate society should take definite and urgent measures to solve it.