Cyber-bullying is something that's been going on for years, but over the past decade has gotten much worse. Cyber-bullying is the misuse of technology to harass someone else and can be used through internet, email, and even through a cell phone. 80% of teens use their phones on a regular basis now which makes these teens more susceptible to cyber-bullying. In fact, over 1/3 of the population of young adults have been cyber-bullied before. These are distressing numbers and should be, I believe, lowered significantly.
There is one specific site I would like to focus on in this post that has dramatically increased the amount of teens and young adults that get cyber-bullied. This site, Tumblr, has a feature on i that can allow literally anyone to send someone with a Tumblr account a message. The feature can be a fun and useful tool if used properly, however there is a downfall to it as well. This messaging tool allows people to ask questions or send messages anonymously. Tumblr's anonymous feature is sometimes being overly abused by some . People are sending hate mail to others they may or may not even know, anonymously. It's become a big problem because the people receiving the message don't know who sent it. All they see is a message telling them horrible things like, "Go kill yourself" or even "I hate you" along with many other terrible things. Sadly, these messages are all too common and random, ordinary people receive them. It's not just a one time thing for some Tumblr users. Many get multiple messages in sometimes only one day! Obviously, this is getting way out of hand.
After getting lots of these messages, there are those that actually take the anonymous' advice and commit suicide. These are young people who have families, are loved, and have their whole lives ahead of them and after simply a couple messages, they feel life isn't worth living anymore, so they commit suicide. It may not seem like it would happen very often, but over 4,400 teens each year take their lives because of cyber-bullying!
A young teen on Tumblr writes,
"I got anon hate from someone and because of him, I broke my 2 months of not cutting early this year and he's saying awful stuff. Suicide: I've thought about it because of the anon hate, but I can't do it because I can't leave the people I love behind."
This is only one example of what cyber-bullying can do to a person. Another young girl actually did commit suicide after being overwhelmed with anonymous hate. She left a note for her friend to let her know what had happened. Here is an excerpt from the note:
"I was thinking about not doing this, [committing suicide] but the anon hate was the last straw. I want you [Her friend] to tell them that. Show them this and remind them what words can do."
Most of the time someone sends hate to a person, they barely know him or her. They don't know what this person is really like, or their beliefs, personalities, values, or the problems they have to face everyday. The bullying gets out of hand and then suddenly an innocent life is taken. It's gone and nothing they can do can bring that person back.
So before you hit "Send", think about this. Remember how this could affect someone to the point where they want to take their own life.
