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On June 5, 2016, 15 year old Tovanna Holton reached for her mother’s handgun, placed it to her head, and ended her short time here on Earth. The events that led to her death all began online, when a supposed friend of hers secretly filmed her taking a bath and posted it on SnapChat. Soon the image was spread over several forms is social media, inviting a slew of hate speech and criticism of Tovanna’s body. Classmates began calling her names, and eventually it was too much for Tovanna to bear.
In her article covering the suicide of Tovanna Holton, Demetria Lucas D’Oyley notes that “this Florida teenager is the latest example of the perils of social media” (2016). Cyberbullying is clearly a severe problem. Espelage and Holt, in their article “Suicidal Ideation and School Bullying Experiences After Controlling for Depression and Delinquency” note that “Students victimized by their peers are 3.3 times more likely to report a suicide attempt than youth who reported not being bullied” (p.528). It’s sad enough that the youth have to fear predators who may seek them out, but to not be able to trust your own friends? Your own classmates? When I was in my early teens, social media was not even a thing yet. Well, perhaps it was, but it wasn’t nearly as ubiquitous as it is now. Much of the danger that lie in the internet was the very real prospect that people weren’t who they said they were. Now, there’s no hiding behind fake names, but it’s as if they don’t even care. How could one, in good conscience, post something private of another person and feel no remorse for it?
I created this infographic to show the statistics of cyberbullying among teens. All sources are listed below. (By the way, have any of you used Canva? Highly recommend for any graphic design projects you need to accomplish!)
O’Doyley, Demetrias Lucas. (2016, January 10). A Nude Snapchat Video and Cyberbullying Lead
to Teen’s Suicide. The Root. Retrieved on November 02, 2016 from
http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2016/06/a-nude-snapchat-video-and-cybe
rbullying-lead-to-teens-suicide/
Bullying Statistics. (Updated on 2016, January 15). Retrieved November 02, 2016, from
Espelage, D. L., & Holt, M. K. (2013). Suicidal Ideation and School Bullying Experiences After
Controlling for Depression and Delinquency. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53(1).
doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.09.017
Internet Statistics | GuardChild. (n.d.). Retrieved November 02, 2016, from
https://www.guardchild.com/statistics/
Bullying Suicide Statistics. (2016, October 13). Retrieved November 02, 2016, from
https://nobullying.com/bullying-suicide-statistics/
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