Online Social Media & Teen Suicide

Social media itself is a huge danger to society. It causes many suicides within the world because of the cyberbullying and spreading of rumors. “Recent studies have shown that one out of four teens have been the victims of cyberbullying and one out of six have admitted to having cyberbullied someone” (Trautner 1). The internet and social media is supposed to be used to communicate with friends and for searching information, “Kids use technology different than their parents do. Sometimes it is hard for adults to understand that this can even be a possibility” (Trautner 1). It is not supposed to be used to bully someone, especially not to the point where the victim would think about suicide. “One of the statistics that has been highlighted within this news coverage is the threefold increase in the suicide rate for girls ages 10 to 14. The rates for girls in this age group increased from 0.5 to 1.5 per 100,000 during this time period. The increases for boys in this age group were not as high, climbing from 1.9 per 100,000 during 1999 to 2.6 per 100,000 in 2014” (Olsen

It had been said by Reed, Cooper, Nugent, and Russel (2016) that, “Evidence supports that cyberbullying can contribute in the development of adolescent depression” (40). Those who are diagnosed with depression can be given medication to help cope, and although it is good for the pharmacies, it is not good for his or her mental health. With cyberbullying and social media effecting one’s mental health with depression and possible suicide, it is important that people know the correlation of the two.

Cyberbullying is a big risk that can lead to suicide, and other factors that not only have physical scars, but mental scars. According to BullyStatisics.com…”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 one suicide among young people, there are at least 100 attempts.” This shows us that cyberbullying has effects that people can’t go back from, but can be prevented if parents/guardians take the extra step, and monitor their kids social media to restrict the cyber bullying and stress from

Whilst cyber bullying is not physical it’s emotional and psychological effects are devastating for the victim and can often lead to suicide and depression (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010). Social Networking sites act as a platform where bullies can say things they might not usually say to someone in person, anonymity and less physical proximity act as a wall between the bully and the victim, none the less, the words or rumors’ that are shared are still just as hurtful. Bullies often feel more confident online and they can contact their victims anytime, anywhere, day or night, not just in the school yard (Smith et al., 2008).” (Procon. (24 O). Retrieved from http://socialnetworking.procon.org/)

Having discovered that cyberbullying is leading to alcoholism and depression, it is becoming clear that this issue must be addressed (Gamez-Guadix, Gini, Calvete, 2015). Bullying is now taking place beyond the at school verbal and physical at school and is now being inflicted online anonymously, so you are not able to know who is doing it and it reaches a larger audience (Gamez-Guadix, Gini, Calvete, 2015). In conducting a cross-sectional study of adolescents, they were able to establish a link to depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide ideation and attempts to cyberbullying (Gamez-Guadix, Gini, Calvete, 2015).

"I kill about 13 million kids a year"- Bullying(Tumblr). We all recognize the seriousness and the unmerciful imprint that cyberbullying can cause. Social media annihilation has become the number one cause of suicide deaths and attempts in teens and young adults. We all witnessed social injustice and failed to report the abuse. Top sites that have the maximum bullying rates are Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook. Prevention and awareness are our only hope to lower these staggering numbers from increasing.

Suicidal thoughts and suicide “ is a notorious part of cyber bullying that has caused 4400 deaths according.

K. Ryan and J. M. Cooper (2010), authors of “Those who can, Teach” focus on what social problems affect today’s students. Some of these problems include abuse and neglect, poverty, teen parenting, gangs and vandalism, and adolescent suicide, just to name a few. It addresses adolescent suicide as third leading cause of teen deaths following motor vehicle accidents and homicide (p. 111). Chapter 4 of this book explains that some of the risk factors for teen suicide are mental illness, being bullied and also stress in their social life. The use of social networking sites makes it easier for these teens to be targeted and bullied to the point of taking their own lives. It also states that although girls are more prone to attempt suicide three times more often than boys, boys’ complete suicide five times more often than girls.

While social media can help spread awareness and be a positive thing, it also can account for a large number of teen suicides. About four years ago a new “game” made the news; it was called the Blue Whale Challenge. The game has a “mastermind” behind all the challenges that a player faces. The challenge goes on for fifty days, ranging from watching scary videos the mastermind sends the player to self-mutilation on the players arms or legs, but the game always ends in suicide (hindustantimes.com). Many who were or still are involved in the challenge have posted a picture of a whale on their social media before they committed suicide or they changed their “bios” on their social medias to “i_am_whale” to show their commitment (kshb.com). Last year, a movie came out called Nerve, which gives those who watch it a better idea as to what the Blue Whale Challenge was about and what the players faced while involved. There is no way to know for sure how many people have been affected by this challenge, but the way the mastermind or curator can manipulate individuals who are depressed or very impressionable and get them to end the challenge by committing suicide should be enough for people to realize not all interactions on social media are positive.

Many cyber chats, although good for online communication however also has the potentials to cause emotional distress. Insults, profanity, humiliation and much more are some of the causes of which resulted many people to depression, suicide to ‘get out of this misery’. Through social networking, online reputations are being humiliated through verbal communications or offensive images that are being posted up onto social networking sites, such as Facebook. Chanelle Rae, a 14-year-old former student at Geelong’s Western Heights College, took her life on Friday the 17th of July 2009 in another cyber bullying incident, of which Chanelle’s mother, Karen reported to 3AW radio on the 21st of July 2009. Her mother reported, ‘she wanted to die because of the message that was given to her that night.,’ This highlights the fact that lives can also be lost while having the benefits of social networking on Facebook, Bebo, Twitter and much more. Thus shows that social networking can have a severe impact on many of our lives through what we say or post online.

From "thintastic" blogs to suicide stories, social media has become not only a source of conversation but a gateway to harmful suggestions that many teenagers see and believe to be allowable, when in fact the situations proposed are dangerous to those who attempt them. Statistics show that 20% of anorexic teenagers will die prematurely, and 80% of teenagers who commit suicide are depressed (South). Social media has glorified and brought to attention eating disorders, depression, and suicide among teens that might otherwise not become a statistic in these critical categories.

Cyber bullying is becoming a bigger and bigger problem on social networking sites. There have been quite a few teenage suicides in which cyber bullying seems to have played a role. In at least one case, the suicide of Alexis Pilkington, the bullying kept going on her tribute page even after her death. (Glor) “Cyber-Bullying can cause the victim to become chronically depressed and to experience a complete loss of self-esteem. A short exposure to Cyber-Bullying can have long term effects. It can result in Cyber-Bullying Suicides.” (Cyber-Bullying Suicides - Cyber Bullycide Victims ) It has many forms such as degradation, harassment, cyber stalking, impersonation, flaming (using vulgar and angry language to start fights with the victim), password theft and hacking accounts, posting photos or videos, among several others. (Cyber-Bullying Suicides - Cyber Bullycide Victims ) Bullying has been around way before the internet, but now that it is online, rumors, pictures or other forms of cyber bullying make their way around the community much faster so it is easier to humiliate someone in front of more people. “In the Internet era, it appears there are more people interested in spewing hate than in countering it. On the social networking sites and on YouTube, inflammatory, hate-filled content overwhelms the limited efforts to

Facebook and other social media platforms have brought communication across the world to a whole new level. The rise of social media has created a place for children to communicate with others in both a positive and negative manner. Although it has made a positive impact on American youth, it has also contributed and exacerbated bullying in our schools. This new form of bullying, often referred to as cyberbullying, has created an around-the-clock atmosphere where bullying can occur even when school is not in session. Many professionals have sought to address the negative aspects of social media and have worked to develop a solution to bring cyberbullying to an end.

Despite the positives, there are many negatives associated with social media. Using social media can make a person more vulnerable to predators and cyber bullying. In this age, “Cyber bulling is quite common, can occur to any young person online, and can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and tragically suicide” (“American Academy of Pediatrics”). Cyber bullying impacts society in a negative way because it is harming young teenagers’ minds. Bullies, torment, threat, harass, and even embarrass their victims by using different forms of social media. Using social media can also decrease privacy for an individual. People often give out their personal information not knowing who can see it. To average internet users, “A false sense of security may leave social networking site users vulnerable to security attacks such as hacking, leaking sensitive information, and sending viruses” (“ProCon”). Furthermore, Social media can also lead to brain disorders and can cause people to have a hard time interacting with people face to face. “Social networking entices people to spend more time online and less time talking to a person face to face.” (“ProCon”)

Half of all young adults have been a victim of cyber bullying; that means that half of young adults are at risk of committing suicide as a result of using social media. Is the use of social media worth a life? By reducing the usage of social media by young adults bullying will decrease and the suicide rate will be reduced.