Comment on "Teen suicide puts spotlight on high tech bullying"

Bullying is common in schools among teenagers. Bullying can lead to fatal consequences of the victims such as suicide. A term that was created due to such a consequence is called “Bullycide”.Bullying does not only come in forms of physical injuries but also mental injuries. An example of an mental injury is depression. “ Bullying by school peers may lead to teenage depression, according to an extensive study conducted by the Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute. The study also found that students with a history of victimisation were far more likely to report symptoms of depression and anxiety, even when other social factors were taken into account.” Depression may cause people to have suicidal thoughts. Victims of bullying are often the unpopular and timid students who are incapable of protecting themselves from attacks. This is because they feel socially inferior to the more popular students. Bullies tend to pick on them as they realize that their victims are weaker than them which makes it easier as targets to pick on.

Victims often feel helpless and lonely when they are being bullied and they develop suicidal thoughts when the bullying gets worse and they want the sufferings to stop. Referring to a specific case, A tragic suicide incident of an 11 year old boy, Jaheem Herrera. He told his mother, Masika Bermudez , “Mom they keep telling me this ... this gay word, this gay, gay, gay. I'm tired of hearing it, they're telling me the same thing over and over." "He told me, but he just got to the point where he didn't want me to get involved anymore because nothing was done." "He was a nice little boy," Bermudez said through her tears. "He loved to dance. He loved to have fun. He loved to make friends. And all he made [at school] were enemies."

It is very heartbreaking for his family and close friends to accept that the lovable boy was out of their life. He was only a normal boy who wants friends and love .Unfortunately, no one could ease his sufferings and pain at such a young age. "He [said he was] tired of complaining, tired of these guys messing with him," Bermudez said, recalling the conversation with Jaheem's best friend. "Tired of talking, I think to his teachers, counsellors and nobody is doing anything -- and the best way out is death."

Less than a month before Jaheem's death, a boy in Massachusetts killed himself after being bullied, harassed and called "gay." This goes to show how vulnerable a person can be just by receiving hurtful and harsh comments . Even an 11 year old can develop suicidal thoughts because he was bullied, it proves the fatal consequence of bullying. "My baby, that's my only boy, and I lost him now," says Bermudez. "He was my first child and ... to lose him 11 years after, he didn't live his life." We will never be able to understand the pain the victim himself had to go through, as well as his family and friends who were genuine to him.

I think that family plays a big part in preventing victims of bullying from committing suicide. Family is the only people they can turn to in times of difficulties, to provide them with emotional support. However, the school must also cooperate with the parents to stop the bullying acts. In most cases, the schools and parents often neglect the seriousness of bullying which is why the victims feel helpless on who to turn to.

Suicide is definitely not the way out to solve problems but for some people, especially the younger teenagers, is more emotionally vulnerable and tends to seek the easiest way to stop their sufferings. Parents need to be more alert on their child’s school life, to take preventions before the bullying becomes worse.

If they do not save their child, who else will?

Commented by: Edena Tay

Admin no. :101867P

References adapted from:

http://www.mcri.edu.au/pages/news-events/media/media-release.asp?rid=4&y=2001

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/04/23/bullying.suicide/

http://www.bullycide.org/