Cyber bullying & what it causes

Cyber bullying & what it causes

What is cyber bullying?

Cyber bullying is bullying that takes place using either the internet or a mobile phone, cyber bullying is most likely to take place on a social networking site Facebook, twitter, my space etc. Most teenager will experience cyber bullying at some point in their life, some worse than others.

Effects of cyber bullying

 Cyber bullying can cause severe depression and anxiety. If people are told the same things for a period of time they will start to believe it, this will cause other issues such as an eating disorder, hating yourself, sometimes it can push people off the edge, causing them to no longer want to live so they will attempt suicide. Cyber bullying is many different things but it is spread by IT.

Here is a true story posted by pure sight (Ryan Halligan 1989 - 2003 | PureSight | Real Life Stories)

Ryan Halligan 1989 - 2003

‘John and Kelly Halligan lost their thirteen year old son, Ryan, to suicide on October 7, 2003. Ryan was a student at Essex junction, Vermont, after Ryan’s death they found out that Ryan was tormented and humiliated at school and online. Ryan’s father says: “a few days after his funeral I logged on to Ryan’s AOL IM account because that was the one place he spent most of his time during the last few months. I logged on to see if there were any clues to his final action. It was in that safe world of being somewhat anonymous that several of his classmates told me of the bullying and cyber bullying that took place during the months that led up to his suicide. The boy that had bullied him since 5th grade and briefly befriended Ryan after the brawl was the main culprit. My son the comedian told his new friend something embarrassing and funny that happened once and the friend (bully) ran with the new information that Ryan had something done to him and therefore Ryan must be gay. The rumour and taunting continued beyond that school day … well into the night and during the summer of 2003.” ’

Ryan’s father john spends his time touring the United States and Canada, he meets young people on his journey, and he gives speeches to them about education, bullying, cyber bullying and teen suicide. He also created a website in his son’s memory.

Ryan was only 14 years old when he committed suicide.