When asked what the major cause of teenage suicide is, most people would conclude depression or drugs. The twenty-first century, however, has a new cause on the rise: bullying. Although bullying is receiving unprecedented awareness and advocacy in schools and the media, startling reports of victims taking their lives are uncovering new realities. Suicide is often the horrific result for many teenagers feeling all alone, left with no means to escape the hurtful torture inflicted by bullying. Bullying has become broad and extensive with teenagers revealing its ugly nature in ways far more diverse than ever before. Common maltreatment once consisted of direct and indirect harassment. In the past decade as technology of cell phones and Facebook are at the forefront of most teenagers’ daily lives, mistreatment has elevated to new levels including the newest form of peer pressure with the creation of online ‘suicide pacts’. Bullying is no longer a quiet wolf around the corner happening to the shy, meager adolescent. With technology bringing forth a new form of peer pressure and bullying, as well as how it is aiding the facilitation of direct and indirect bullying, teenage suicide is becoming more prevalent because of technology’s hand in bullying.
Granted, bullying was once typically confined to the occasional war of words in locker rooms or at a park after school, but direct bullying as physical and verbal abuse are now occurring spontaneously in most schools and communities on a regular basis. Teenagers formerly had the luxury of time to cool off, to think of their options and consequences; they had time for their conscience to take over and rethink a rash decision. Unfortunately, with the ease of instant gratification w...
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.... Victims of direct, indirect, and cyber-bullying have an entirely new gamut of bullying to cope with, and are forced to manage their emotions in this same public arena as well. Teenagers are finding it difficult to escape or remove themselves from such public harassment, and in response, suicide is increasingly the outcome with many adolescents gravitating toward suicide pacts as well. Unfortunately, technology is not always a beautiful advance, ultimate luxury or everyday convenience. Technology has indeed aided and contributed to the demise of many. It will be of no miraculous wonder should this next decade see a dramatic swing in the cause of teenage suicide from depression and drugs to bullying. The author of the age-old proverb of “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” obviously never had such words plastered on Facebook.
Bullying has become a major problem facing the United States today. The American Psychological Association reports that roughly 40% to 80% of children are involved in bullying on some level during their time in school. (APA, 2014) The magnitude of the problem can be observed in the statistics. In the United States, a total of 4,080,879 children between the ages of five and 18 have been the victims of bullying compared to 3,892,199 who have reported that they have engaged in bullying someone else. Additionally, 851,755 said that they have been both the victim and the bully. That's a whopping 8,824,833 people in the United States that have been involved in bullying behavior on one level or another. (High, B., 2000 Census)
Cyberbullying has a big challenge when compared to traditional bullying. Because cyberbullying is an indirect none verbal form of bullying, adolescent are more exposed to repeated harassment through hate messages and much more. For so, they increase the rate of suicide by adding feelings of isolations, hopelessness… Social media also contains websites in which those victims rely on, which take advantage of the victim’s vulnerability to provide detailed information on how to commit suicide in order to kill off their
Bullying, often dismissed as a normal part of growing up, is a real problem in our nation's schools, according to the National School Safety Center. One out of every four schoolchildren endures taunting, teasing, pushing, and shoving daily from schoolyard bullies. More than 43 percent of middle- and high-school students avoid using school bathrooms for fear of being harassed or assaulted. Old-fashioned schoolyard hazing has escalated to instances of extortion, emotional terrorism, and kids toting guns to school. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of all incidents of school violence begin with verbal conflicts, w...
We should concerned about youth suicide because it is easily preventable but yet it occurs frequently. Bullying is one of the more common reason someone would be come...
Cyberbullying is no exception to this statistic. The two writers also stated that “There have been several high-profile cases involving teenagers taking their own lives in part because of being harassed and mistreated over the Internet (Apollo, 2007; Halligan, 2006; Jones, 2008), a phenomenon recently termed cyberbullicide—suicide indirectly or directly influenced by experiences with online aggression,” (Hinduja and Patchin, 2007). These cases are not a constant issue in every school, but they have happened frequently enough to raise attention to faculty and parents. With adolescents being at such a sensitive age, it is important to remind them that the actions they take can have serious consequences, including
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. Due to the growth of technology in the American society, the younger generations of adolescents are adapting to the excessive use of computers, cell phones, and social-networking sites. According to a study done by Amanda Lenhart, 87% of adolescents who are between the ages of 12 and 17 are using the internet on a daily basis (Trolley, Shields, and Hanel, “Demystifying and Deescalating Cyber Bullying in the Schools”).With these numbers increasing across the nation, the numbers of adolescents being harassed through technology means is growing as well. The relationship between cyber bullying and teenage suicide has been named “cyber bullycide”. Studies show that 1/3 of teenagers who have used the internet have stated that they have received threatening or offensive messages either through text, e-mail, IM, and other technology related programs. In 2007 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially labeled “electronic aggression” being cyber bullying as an “emerging public health problem” (Billitteri 387).
Social media is highly praised in society; many people fail to see the negative effects they play on our youth. The recent increase in highly publicized cases of adolescent suicides involving social media has drawn national attention to the topic (Luxton 2012). Cyber bullying was then brought to the attention of claimsmakers as being a leading cause to these suicides, which lead to claimsmakers deciding to speak up about this troubling condition. As a result, this has brought much-needed media attention to the troubling condition we know as cyber
Bullying has been a part of schooling for as long as children have been congregating. To some it seems like a natural, though uncomfortable, part of life and school experience, while to others it can mean terrifying experiences which spoiled and characterized otherwise happy years in school. Dan Olweus, a pioneer in bully behavior research documented that 2.7 million children are affected as victims, and that 2.1 children act as bullies (Fried, 1997, as cited in Aluedse, 2006). With bullying cited as the reason for violent, gun-related crime in the past few years, school districts as well as national governments have put anti-bullying policies in place. Bullying is a complicated phenomenon, involving more than one child demanding lunch money from a smaller child. It is a worldwide epidemic hitting schools everywhere. Virtually everyone has seen or experienced bullying. With technological advances, bullying is even hitting the internet. Parents, teachers, students and governments agencies alike are attempting to put a stop to bullying practices.
Neimen, Samantha, Brandon Robers, and Simon Robers. “Bullying: A State of Affairs.” Journal of Law & Education (n.d.):n. pag. Print.
With all the new networking site it makes it easier for bullies to target their victims. Kids don’t understand when they reach a certain limit it can trigger the young kids mind to commit suicide. Bullying and suicide have a huge connection between the two. Getting bullied at school is one thing getting bullied on social media is another, there are more people that can see if they post public. Getting made fun of on social media can make the other kid sensitive and can get to them to the point where they cannot take it anymore. If kids have easy access to get online it is easy for them to find their victim, now a day kids know how to work the new websites. Among average 61% have received mean or embarrassing posts online and 59% have received mean texts, e-mails or instant messages (Anderson, Bresnahan, & Musatics, 2014). It is easier to bully on social media then is at school or anywhere else. Embarrassing pictures or even inappropriate pictures of the victim can be uploaded by the bully leading to embarrassment for everyone to see. It is much easier to be behind a screen not being face to face to attack with harsh word, or whatever it is to embarrass the kid. Being behind a screen doesn’t like kids socialize, which is what is wrong with the society
Bullying is an issue that has been around for decades and is something that can affect everyone, no matter what his or her age is. Even though bullying has changed over the years from being physical abuse and harassment that happens on the playgrounds of schoolyards to tormenting over the Internet. The same groups are still affected namely adolescents. Statistically about 30 percent of all teenagers in the United States are bullied in one-way or another (“Teenage Bullying”).
Before students only had to worry about being bullied at school, but due to technology advances and the use of social media, teenagers can be bullied twenty four- seven. Cyberbullying causes a huge impact on students and when they are too busy with the anxiety of being bullied their grades can suffer or they can even drop out. According to HealthDay News, 9,590 students were surveyed from 580 U.S. schools. Compared to kids who were not bullied, students that were cyberbullied experienced a 0.049 drop in their GPA between grades 9 and 12. This number is too big when you think about the potential students have but the constant bullying by their peers on social media effects that. For some, dropping out or taking the bad grades feels like their only option. Some teenagers that get cyberbullied on social media can’t take the constant criticism, which can lead to suicide. An example is Hannah Smith, a 14-year old student from England. Smith had been on ask.fm, a social networking site that allows people to ask questions anonymously. Cyberbullies urged her to drink bleach and cut herself. Eventually she couldn’t take the bullying any longer and committed suicide. Social media has a huge impact on these suicides because it’s through these websites that these teens are being bullied by other students. If teens don’t stop soon the side effects of cyberbullying
Although cyberbullying is one of the biggest factors for teen suicide, it can take place almost anywhere at anytime, and it can happen to anyone. Unfortunately, this happened to Tom Mullaney, an intelligent, joyful fifteen-year-old boy with no history of being bullied. But all it took to shred his life apart was social media, six people, and threatening messages. One night, Tom received twelve threatening Facebook messages from six of his classmates. Later that night, Tom’s father found him in the shed at the back of the garden, hanged. Tom was cyber-lynched to suicide. Tom’s story is just one of the thousand of stories that talks about the impact that cyberbullying has on young teens. Although it could be seen as an invasion of privacy,
Bullying has always been present within the United States. Although the issue has been around for a long time, it continues to grow and become more of problem. It is said that about 160,000 children within the United States are refusing to go to school because of bullying. Another statistic is that within American schools alone, there are an estimated 2.1 billion bullies and 2.7 billion victims (Dan Olewus, MBNBD). The numbers presented here are outrageous and although there are organizations to stop bullying, obviously there needs to be a new set of solutions. Any type of bullying presents problems to children, “Suicide, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, trouble with the law, poor performance in school and work, and lack of involvement in socially accepted activities are some of the difficulties resulting from bullying (Austin, Reynolds, Barnes, Shirley). Of course, there is more than just a single type of bullying. Feeding ground for bullies can range anywhere from text-message or cyberbullying to physical bullying in schools. Also, bullies can begin to strike at a young age and could also be; teenage, middle-age, or even the elderly. Even though there are these many versions of problematic bullies, the largest bullying problems take place within the school setting: a place that is supposed to be safe for children rather than harmful. Although it seems impossible to completely get rid of bullying, these are a few suggested solutions; making the school informed on bullying issues, schools implementing rules on bullying, and having students positively use electronics to stop bullying.
Bullying can also be considered as a major problem in the teenager bracket. This can occur in any social environment not just schools as mostly portrayed. Bullyi...