Suicide Among Teen Victims Of Cyberbullying Essay

As the drastic increase of social media networks has increased, so too has the cyberbullying prevalence. Merriam-Webster defines cyberbullying as the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person often done anonymously. Kassandra Gahagan and her fellow colleagues studied cyberbullying among students and its outcomes. Studies show higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors with victims of cyberbullying, along with higher rates of depression, anxiety and paranoia (Gahagan, Vaterlaus & Frost, 2015). While cyberbullying can be both intentional or unintentional, it is a negative process which effects the victim. This includes comments, posts without consent and messages. The study conducted sought to determine the prevalence of cyberbullying among young adults and the negative outcomes through asking three questions.

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/)

Since Teen Suicide is the second leading cause of teenage death in the United States, there is a need for legislation that promotes awareness and education about Cyber-Bullying.

Societal norms in the United States in terms of adolescents utilizing the Internet once as an additional source of communication has become the primary mode of communication. Today, “92% of teens proclaim they go online daily to check popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter among others” (Lenhart 1). The alteration from physical communication to online communication has exposed a dangerous interaction for social relationships known as cyberbullying. In order to understand cyberbullying, it is critical to understand traditional bullying. Traditional bullying thrives off on aggressive behavior that is repetitive and involves a real or perceived power imbalance. Cyberbullying is a form of violence predominantly seen in teens that has the potential to lead to long-term harm. It involves the use of technology such as cell phones and the Internet with the primary objective of

“I wanted to say bye… for, like, ever” (Abigail Pesta). Those were the last words Rebecca Sedwick texted to her two middle school friends before jumping to her death. This is one of many cases where bullying has been a common cause of death especially for young adolescents. A statistic from bullyingstastics.org states that 1 in 3 adolescents have experienced cyber threats online. Based on the research, now with advanced technology and social media sites, cyberbullying is a growing concern today. There is no federal anti-bullying law, but every state has their own laws. With each cyberbullying case being unique, defining this recent phenomenon can be challenging. This paper will look to address the issues behind cyberbullying, ways it can be stopped, and a universal definition that can be applied to these hateful acts.

Megan Meier was 13 years old and struggled with self-image and depression for many years. One day, she met a boy on MySpace and the two became very close. Megan was the happiest she had been in her entire life, and under her parents’ watchful eyes, she continued to flourish. However, on October 16, 2006, Megan became the victim of severe cyberbullying. The boy she was talking to began to say hurtful things to her, which quickly spiraled into a situation where many of her “friends” on social media began posting derogatory comments about her. Despite her parents’ pleas to get off the Internet, Megan continued to read the comments. That night, Megan’s mom found her hanged in her closet (Megan Meir Foundation, n.d.).

(High School) The effects of cyberbullying can lead to many harmful decisions, including thoughts or acts of violence, depression, and even suicide. (Martin, Florence, et al.) An article written by Anke Görzig-PhD, states that “Victims of cyberbullying have shown symptoms of depression and emotional difficulties, while cyberbullies have shown externalizing problems (e.g., stealing, physical assault, damaging property).” Görzig concludes by saying that cyberbully-victims are perhaps the most psychologically vulnerable, and need the most support out of all bully victims. The results of a study Görzig conducted supports the fact that “practitioners and policymakers” need to have support for unifying prevention and intervention strategies- not just for the victims of cyberbullying, but the bullies themselves. A study done by Carla Zdanow and Bianca Wright in Africa on “The Representation of Self Injury and Suicide on Emo Social Networking Groups” reported their findings and concluded that in any social media group, there is a feeling that teenagers are getting the need to want to ‘fit in’- and in doing so, they are even willing to engage in dangerous, pre-suicidal behavior. Social media, without a doubt, has taken over societies life, but is it as great as people make it out to

Suicide is the act or an instance of taking one’s own life voluntarily and intentionally. Suicide is the third leading cause to death in ages ten to twenty-four. It is approximated that for every successful suicide there are about twenty-five suicide attempts made. Most suicidal teens believe that a reason for living is also an excellent reason for dying. This tragic situation is ultimately preventable. The fact of the matter is who has the initiative to enforce suicidal prevention?

The verbal abuse teens must withstand is extremely devastating in their lives. When teens are called names or have things made up about them, it causes them to feel badly about themselves, and what others might think of them. They are vulnerable at this age while they are still developing their identities of who they will become in the future. Name calling online is worse than physical bullying, because it is the whole school and the community that sees these things being said, which causes the teen to be effected by all who know them, and not just classmates. Once a teen has been made the victim of a bully, it is very difficult to continue functioning in school, social and sports activities without always feeling stared at and talked about by others. At such a tender age in a persons’ life, this can sometimes cause irreversible harm to a teen which is what causes them to feel that suicide is the only way out for them. Verbal and psychological abuse online has very serious effects on teens that frequently base their self- esteem and self -worth on the opinions of others, especially their peers.

The purpose of my study would be to see the correlation between cyberbullying and youth suicide ideation and attempts. This study aimed to examine adolescents’ experiences with cyberbullying because, “victims of cyberbullying often report feeling frustrated, angry, and depressed" (Patchin & Hinduja, 2010). Cyberbullying can have a negative impact on a youth’s life and by conducting this study we can gain a better understanding of how cyberbullying manifests itself in adolescence 's behavior, including suicidal thoughts and attempts. I would use a mixed methods approach to examine various aspects of cyberbullying, including students’ involvement in cyberbullying, reporting behaviors, and suicidal ideation or attempts. To gain more detailed information on the effects of cyberbullying on youths ' suicidal ideation and attempts, I would utilize both quantitative and qualitative data. Since cyberbullying itself is a complex issue combining both quantitative and qualitative data can help to enhance the theory of the research.

(Manuel, Natasha Rose. "Cyber-bullying: its recent emergence and needed legislation to protect adolescent victims." Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law 13.1 (2011): 219+. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web. 11 July 2015.)

Teens have nowhere to hide. Cyberbullying is increasing alongside of advances in technology. Most teens now have access to electronic communications and the Internet, making them easy targets for cyberbullying. Cyberbullies are using e-mail, cell phones and the Internet to cause emotional harm, harass, threaten, ridicule, and exert control over their victims. Additionally, cyberbullied teens are committing suicide at an alarming rate. Cyberbullying must be stopped; it poses psychological trauma and health risks, affects social interpersonal skills, and can ultimately cause suicide. A Cyberbully is able to breach every part of its victim’s life, and keeping teens safe in cyberspace will be a

History has taught us that with advances in technology, there are inevitably abusive applications of it. The internet is no longer a way to only acquire information, researching, emailing, and entertainment purposes. Now that society accounts social networking as a means to communicate with users all around the world, individuals can now use these sites to launch viral and seemingly indefensible assault on one's peers. While name calling and bullying behaviors have always been an unfortunate aspect of childhood and adolescence, the misuse of social networking sites in today's society have served as a tool for bullying now defined as cyberbullying. Social networking sites create a negative atmosphere amongst adolescents in means to cyberbullying their fellow peers.

Cyberbullying is one of many reasons why social media is perceived as bad. Approximately eighty percent of teens use a smart phone regularly, ninety-two percent of teens report going online at least once a day, and fifty-six percent go online several times a day (Paul Malcore). When teens see or hear of someone being bullied, most of them do not know what to do, they do not know who to tell, and or choose to ignore the situation. There are different types of cyberbullying: exclusion, stalking, gossiping, harassment, and impersonation. These are caused from people abusing the use of social media.

One of the negative nature of social media is cyberbullying especially in high schools. Cyberbullying happens when kids bully each other through electronic means to intimidate, spread rumors, harass, threaten, or to abuse someone mentally and emotionally. Cyberbullying has the potential to cause intense harm to students because it can happen anytime, be with the person anywhere, and spread quickly in ways that can never be undone. An element of cyberbullying that is of particular concern is that youth sometimes don’t realize that they are cyberbullying either because of ignorance about online etiquette which often don’t have the benefit of the kind of nonverbal communication that happens in face-to-face communication. However, when kids become conscious of bullying the outcome may result in emotional trauma, suicide, and in some cases murder. Because many kids are reluctant to report being bullied, even to their parents, it is impossible to know just how many are affected. Recent studies about bullying rates have indicated that about 1 in 4 teens have been the victims of cyberbullying, and