Twelve-year-old Rebecca Sedwick committed suicide in September due to harassment that wouldn’t stop. She kept a journal up until her death, and on one page she wrote: “How many lives have to be lost until people realize words do matter?”
The story of Rebecca, who was bullied by her entire school, as well as 15-year-old Amanda Todd, who hanged herself in October 2012 are both victims of cyberbullying. The loss of these lives, and the lives of others who have followed similar paths, were the cause of the power of technology; all it took was a few hundred people and the Internet.
I feel that a major reason of suicides caused by bullying is that the Internet is endless. You can block one person on Facebook, but that person can create another account and harass you on that one, and if you’ve managed to fight off the bullies on Facebook, there’s still Twitter and Tumblr and plenty more social media sites to defend yourself on.
If it were me who was being bullied, I would have completely isolated myself. I would have gotten rid of my Facebook and my Tumblr and even my cell phone. I would have asked to be home schooled, anything to let people lose interest in me and move on to somebody else. I’ve noticed that it’s not easy to fight a horde of hateful bullies alone, so I wouldn’t take the chance and attempt it.
In 1940, a famous actor and director named Charlie Chaplin wrote a powerful speech for his movie, The Great Dictator, some of which can be applied to bullying.
“You, the people have the power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.”
Back in 1940, this was a cry for men and women alike to stand against dictatorship, but today this shows humanity’s potential. I feel that all people haven’t realized the consequences of their actions, and that everyone has thoughts, feelings, and goals in life. In a way, bullying may be considered as an unstoppable force, but if everyone would learn to use technology for good and to stop concerning themselves with other people’s business, the world would be a much better place.
October is Bullying Prevention Month, so if you’re planning on sending a hateful message tonight, think about it. Is it really worth it? Does liking the same person or a screenshot of someone’s body really cry out “I should tell this person to kill him/herself,” to the point where it actually happens? Is any argument really worth losing the life of another human being?
