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Event Information:
Bebo suicide stemming from cyberbullying
I am not sure if you all saw this, but another youth has hung himself after being cyberbullied on Bebo - which is very popular in the U.K. Apparently, one of the threats the 13-year-old boy received through that social networking site read "If you don't kill yourself then we will do it for you." It is so unfortunate how this is occurring with increasing frequency. And some adults say to us - what is wrong with these kids that they are so troubled by online harassment - can't they just deal with it? Can't they just ignore it and not let it bother them? The answer is a resounding "no." Adolescents struggle mightily with issues of self-esteem, self-doubt, and self-identity as they try to figure out who they are. And they are hypersensitive to the thoughts and opinions of their peer group. Hopefully you remember feeling the same way when you were growing up. While cyberbullicide is definitely an exception and not the norm, it appears to me as a solution that some youth would definitely consider, based on our research. In our most recent study, we found that victims of cyberbullying were significantly more likely to have serious thoughts of suicide than those who had not been victimized. Clearly, this is cause for concern.
