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The Link Between Cyber-Bullying and Suicide

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The Link Between Cyber-Bullying and Suicide
The Link Between Cyber Bullying and Suicide

When people hear the word “bully” they often think of the tough guy in school who seems to push and shove his peers into lockers and take away their lunch money. The idea of this type of bully has become popular and many people today would consider it a means of toughening up and is also widely known as an inevitable part of growing up or a phase in a child’s life. Recently there has been a rise in a new form of bullying; cyber bullying. With the fast acting rise of technology and the expanding power and popularity of the internet there’s a new bully in town and it exists in your child’s computer.
This type of torment is extreme, causing young people to take their lives. Additionally to the adolescents who successfully take their life, many of them still attempt and continue to strongly think about suicide. Teenagers have easy access to dozens of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, which allow other individuals to hide their true identity. Many of these websites have the option to make yourself anonymous where you can send any user a comment without them knowing who send it. It is also very easy for an individual to make a fake profile and attack other individuals that way. Individuals don’t always keep their identities a secret, many times groups of students target another student and send them harsh comments like “go kill yourself already” and “the world would be better off without you”.
Amanda Todd, a Vancouver-area teenager who posted a story to YouTube last month about being cyber-bullied, was found dead Wednesday night in Coquitlam, Canada. Authorities believe she committed suicide (Grenoble, Ryan). This 14 year old girl committed suicide on October, 11, 2012 due to cyber bullying. Previous to her death, Todd posted a video on YouTube telling her story with a series of flash cards.
The torment began, according to Todd 's YouTube video, after she flashed a man online when she was in



Cited: Cloud, John. “Bullied To Death?.” Time 176.76 (2010): 60-63. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. “CYBERBULLYING CRACKDOWN. (Cover Story).” Current Events 111.5 (2011): 4-5. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. "Cyberbullying Research Center." Cyberbullying Research Center - Cyber Bullying Examples, Cases, Laws, Articles, Stories, Presentations, Videos, Facts, Statistics. N.p., Feb. 2010. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Gatti, Janice. "2009 AP-MTV Digital Abuse Study." A Thin Line. N.p., Oct. 2010. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. "Gay Bullying Statistics." - Bullying Statistics. N.p., Nov. 2009. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Grenoble, Ryan. "Amanda Todd: Bullied Canadian Teen Commits Suicide After Prolonged Battle Online And In School." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin. “Bullying, Cyberbullying, And Suicide.” Archives Of Suicide Research 14.3 (2010): 206-221. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Holladay, Jennifer. “Cyberbullying.” Education Digest 76.5 (2011): 4-9. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Mosbergen, Dominique. "Erin Gallagher, Irish Teen, Commits Suicide After Battle With 'Vicious ' Cyberbullying (PHOTO)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 Oct. 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Murray, Rheana. "Cyber-bullying, Social Media Blamed After Florida Teen Commits Suicide." NY Daily News. N.p., 12 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. Nadine Shabeeb, et al. “Tormented To Death?.” People 74.14 (2010): 56-58. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Dec. 2012.

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