Cyber-bullying linked to youth suicide
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Words, whether they’re said directly through face-to-face or indirectly, can be hurtful, powerful and destructive. Cyber bullying is pervasive and invasive. Bullying is a form of aggression with the intent to cause harm driving it. It can be a physical attack on another person or name-calling and threats. Psychological bullying is when one spreads rumors about a person or excludes him or her from the group.
Cyber bullying is willful and repeated harm through a computer or cell phone. Almost 30 percent of school-age children have reported being bullied, and that number soars to 60 percent among middle-school students. What is known about cyber bullying is just the tip of the iceberg. Most bullying instances are never reported. How much cyber bullying is really happening? By its very nature, it’s difficult to control.
It’s easier to be cruel online because the bully isn’t close to the victim and can’t personally see the emotional damage being done. Cyber bullying provides a veil of protection through anonymity which means the bully can use another name, hide in the safety of his or her own room, and avoid intervention from adults, especially if his or her parents aren’t computer savvy.
In recent years, a series of bullying-related suicides in the US and across the globe have drawn attention to the connection between bullying and suicide. Too many adults still see bullying as “just part of being a kid.” Bullying is a serious problem that leads to many negative effects for victims, including suicide. Many people may not realize that there is also a link between being a bully and committing suicide.
The statistics on bullying and suicide are alarming:
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people (10-24 years old), resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it.
Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University. A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying.
According to statistics reported by ABC News, nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying. The character traits exhibited by bullies include aggressive and impulsive behavior, lack of control, and a need to feel powerful. In part, they act this way because they want to be accepted.
Factors that contribute to bullying show that age is a prime factor. Bullying can start as early as second grade. It tends to escalate in fourth grade, especially with girls, and peak in sixth to eighth grade students often continuing on into high school.
Research has shown that if there is no intervention and behaviors go unchallenged, there is a danger that bullying will continue into adulthood, putting these individuals at risk for criminal, domestic and other violence related crimes. Some 60 percent of individuals who were bullies between sixth and ninth grade had at least one criminal conviction by age 24.
Gender plays a role. Boys tend to be more physical, so you see more hitting, punching, and pushing among them.
Girls are more verbal. Girls are much more likely to be cyber bullies and are also at higher risk for suicide. Typically girls are more likely to spread rumors, threaten and tease others on Facebook, in text messages, and with a camera phones—all are equally damaging. Bullying in schools crosses all ages, genders, races, social status and religious affiliations.
Targets of bullying are often individuals who are perceived as being different. That difference could be that the person is too tall, too thin, too heavy, who knows? There really is no logic to this; an individual can be singled out for the silliest or smallest of reasons. As to personality characteristics, victims tend to be socially isolated, quiet, sensitive, passive, and submissive. They may have difficulty making friends. Other children perceive them as being weak.
Sexual orientation can also put one at risk for being a target. According to the Teaching Tolerance organization, 86 percent of gay and lesbian students report being bullied. The good news is that there is widespread awareness of this issue and a large-scale effort by schools to address it.
Fear appears to be one reason why children and adults who are not directly involved in bullying stand on the sidelines.
Bystanders may avoid intervening so that they themselves won’t be targeted. Sometimes they’re afraid that they will lose friends or status if they speak up.
Bullies have the ability to create the impression that they have everyone’s support, and this makes bystanders fearful of retaliation or alienation from the group.
The bully mentality is too often accepted as the norm and not seen as wrong. It can also be that bystanders simply don’t have the skills to intervene. This provides an opening for schools to implement programs that define bullying behaviors and teach appropriate intervention strategies.
We all have a responsibility to report incidents of bullying and reach out to support victims. For more information please visit: www.stopcyberbullying.org
If you’re concerned that someone may be contemplating suicide or if you yourself need to talk, please call the National Suicide Lifeline at: 1 (800) 273-TALK (8255).
