The Risk of Suicide: Cyber-bullying

“Go kill yourself! You have nothing left! You’re worthless, fat, ugly, and no one would miss you. Just do it already!”

This is just an example of some of the things Jamey Rodemeyer had to hear, read, experience. Being a victim of constant bullying, Jamey unfortunately committed suicide due to relentless cyber-bullying and in-person bullying. Even though Jamey posted videos complaining about the bullying and asking for help, the fact that no one helped him or tried to intervene only made his self-worth grow smaller and smaller.

In college, cyber-bullying is a growing trend. A recent study from psychology professor Robin Kowalski and Clemson University found the 20-27% of college students are victims of cyber-bullying and that 30% were bullied for the first time in college.

The power of being able to hide behind a computer screen is toxic and can lead to spreading rumors over social media instantly. There’s also room for people to create an anonymous identity to stalk, harass and sometimes threaten victims. The most problematic thing about this is that the victim can do little about it, and even when they go to ask for help, there’s little they can do to help. The information, the rumors, the nasty comments is already out there.

However, there is a way college students can help protect themselves from becoming a victim of cyber-bullying. Kowalski suggests that students can limit the amount of personal information they put online. This allows for people who are “after” you, for whatever reason, to have a harder time searching about you (your interests, your photos, where you live, etc.) This reduces access to personal information that can be used against someone.

At NCC, we have The Green Dot which is against bullying and sexual harassment. Even though there are programs in place, incidents are rarely reported. The problem is that the university needs to know what’s going on. Suggesting that those who come forward will remain annoymous and that the college is working FOR the student’s safety and mental and emotional health can help students feel more comfortable coming forward. The article also suggests that there should be numbers students can call anonymously for support if they are victims of bullying, much like the suicide hotline.

The fact that bullying has lead to suicide from victims ranging from 22 to and young as 10, is something all schools need to being paying attention to. And the ease of which bullies can access someone online is problematic, so the universities need to change how bullying is being handled. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, and the increasing percentages of suicide because of it desperately needs to be handled better by universities.