http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_CooperDead Century said:
Hes a character from big bang theory who shows no emotion and takes everything from a very logically and scientific
Are teengers really that dense?
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Hes a character from big bang theory who shows no emotion and takes everything from a very logically and scientific
It's not backwards. It's "forwards," for better or worse. The times are changing and more and more people use the web for socialisation. It's not just for dweebs anymore. there are people who use it to communicate with the world. Again, for better or for worse.flarty said:
And yes, teens are "that dense." We're talking about people who are still fucking children. Of course they're that dense. Hannah Smith was fourteen years old. She was a child. The joy of youth is that you think you know everything and you wish the rest of the world could just understand. Some of us never grow out of it.
The flip side is that there are a lot of little monsters out there. They exist within the real world as well as the social network/cuber/cloud thingy. A lot of the cases in which social media "leads" to suicide involve people the kid sees routinely anyway, due to school. In fact, your participation online isn't even necessary, as all it needs to do is to be a ground for things to spread about you and it can work back into the real world. Social media is another tool in a long list of tools bullies can use to harass people.
Simply going off the grid is probably unrealistic, but it's also not really a given solution.
It's kids. Not kids these days. Just kids. It happened when you were young, no matter how your memory has filtered it.
What amazes me is the utter lack of empathy from so many. Especially since this is a site where people go from "that doesn't bother me so I don't see the point" to screaming "NERD BLACKFACE" At The Big Bang Theory.
While I can't back this up with any facts, I disagree entirely. I believe cyber-bullying can be more devastating or at the very least is just as devastating as "real life" bullying for the reasons I gave in my first post. Social networking is "real life" for kids these days, and it's quite easy to see why. I think I've got a profile on every social network you can think of, and I'm in my late twenties. Teenagers, understandably, lap this lifestyle up. It really is everywhere and will continue to be pervasive for years I'm sure.BiH-Kira said:
When I was a teenager, I escaped from my bullies through the internet in the safety of my home. I can't imagine what it must be like for these kids who can't even do that. Their bullies are everywhere, it's nothing like it was years ago.
As for suicide, if you are suicidal it really, really does not matter what your trigger is. The only thing that can possibly help you is professional/medical help. If you are being bullied to the point you are considering suicide (I've been there) saying "just block them" is about as useful as saying "just ignore them", the damage is done, and while, yes, ignoring or blocking the perpetrators is a step to recovering it is not the step. Especially not when it is just as easy for them to continue their abuse via a pseudonym. Which leads me to another point, cyber-bullying can be anonymous, how many stories have we heard about kids being bullied by someone they trusted, using a fake name? Or kids finding that they have been guilty of harassment because someone else has been using their identity?
There are people who are particularly vulnerable and sensitive to this type of abuse. Also, cyber bullying extends beyond a few trolling comments - it's structured, manipulative, and takes place over an extended period of time. For someone susceptible to that kind of abuse it can be too much to take. Also, a large part of the social life for today's youths is based online. You could easily have said to kids my age "if you don't like bullying, don't go out and play, don't go to the school dance, don't hang out with friends in case their acquaintances come along and bully you". It's no way to live a life, and getting excluded can be as bad as the bullying.
It's probably not unreasonable to expect anyone interested enough to express the question of "who" to be capable of doing fifteen seconds of research on Google.Dead Century said:
That's just... confusing.Sanshou said:
What are the timestamps of those messages? Pre or post-mortem?
Because we're either looking at a girl who had some serious issues or a parent trying to divert blame.
Yes. Teenagers are dense. I would know being one myself. But it's not that simple. You CAN stay off the website, you CAN block the bully. But you are told not to do that. Teens are always told to ignore the bullies. Next time you are annoyed or aggravated by someone in the workplace ask yourself "Why don't I quit? Am I really that dense? Am I really so socially backwards that I put my self in a position I don't like?". Hopefully that will put it in some perspective for you. Then there are the teens that ARE socially inept, or as you put it "socially backwards". They usually have some form of low self-esteem. So to come home from school where they are very uncomfortable and/or already bullied, log onto their preferred social media website to converse with their friends only to be faced with more bullying destroys any sense of security they might have. For them, nowhere is safe. They can never relax. They never know who the next person to turn on them is. To deem them "dense" for that is to demonstrate your own incredibly dense view of people who aren't as "awesome" as you.flarty said:
Having been a teenager recently, and having two teenage siblings, I believe that they go through periods of psychosis followed by periods of lucidity. From age thirteen to sixteen it leans heavily towards psychosis, about 75-25, and the progresses slowly towards the normal and mature 15-85.
Some of these psychotic periods can be more severe than others in certain individuals, during which these people can be dangerous to themselves and others. Events of distress or ennui can also bring about stronger reactions.
Thats my hypothesis.
That's the rub, isn't it? The problem with most of this is that people tend to see depression as an emotion rather than a condition, suicide as though it's something done with rational thought, and speech as though it impacts everyone the same way (well, it doesn't bother me, so....)Stasisesque said:
Teens seem to have it worse, and I think a lot of people forget that no matter how lame their dramas were, they were always,, always, ALWAYS cranked up to eleven. Even if your biggest problem was some Saved By The Bell shit where OMG I HAVE TWO DATES FOR THE SAME DANCE, you probably thought it was some big serious deal. That's the joy of growing up. Apparently, part of growing up is also forgetting it.
The "get over it" mentality is quite easy because nothing has to change, and you can go back to being a dick online with no perceived consequences. Rather than your words having weight, it's just someone else being weak.
...Up until it offends you, of course. Because, in typical classy form, a lot of the folks who say "just ignore them" or "get over it" have had their own hyper-emotional issues. But that's different, because it's always different.
They go back on to the sites for a few reasons. Including:
1. Morbi curiosity. If you're depressed and such, you can often do a lot of things that'll make it worse including going into situations that will get you bullied like this.
2. They have friends on there. Just because people are bullying them doesn't mean they don't have other reasons to go online.
3. Peer pressure. People feel they NEED to visit these site now, I guess. And when you're a teenager, peer pressure is all the more effective. "You're not on Facebook? GET OUT OF MY SITE!!!" Or something like that.
4. The belief that they can handle it. Like when you try to keep your hand on a car that's been out in the sun all day.
1. Morbi curiosity. If you're depressed and such, you can often do a lot of things that'll make it worse including going into situations that will get you bullied like this.
2. They have friends on there. Just because people are bullying them doesn't mean they don't have other reasons to go online.
3. Peer pressure. People feel they NEED to visit these site now, I guess. And when you're a teenager, peer pressure is all the more effective. "You're not on Facebook? GET OUT OF MY SITE!!!" Or something like that.
4. The belief that they can handle it. Like when you try to keep your hand on a car that's been out in the sun all day.
Or a social networking site looking to divert blame.Abomination said:
I'm not saying it happened, but I wouldn't rule it out without some sort of investigation.
Depressed kid does something extreme for attention before killing herself based on real stimulus?Sanshou said:
What's not to get?
That is assuming it's true, given that it's coming from sites like the Daily Fail and the Times, as there's a vested interest in Ask.fm covering their asses. None of which make it out to be a story promising a lot of truth.
Whenever I hear of some teen suiciding over cyber-bullying it's rare to find cyber-bullying the ONLY cause of their suicide, there is always some other aspect that makes the bullying a final tipping point.
Unless they are so incredibly weak-willed that despite living a perfectly normal life, mere words online are enough to cause them to kill themselves...in which case I would (cruelly) state that they were simply eaten by Darwin. With that kind of mental instability they're going to eventually find a way to kill themselves sooner or later.
These kids literally don't know the value of life, they don't value their OWN life and consider themselves completely worthless just because some people online told them so. These are NOT people who have gone bankrupt with millions or dollars in debt, or facing life in prison, or born into terrible poverty where the daily stress + pressure have just become too much. They are perfectly healthy & privileged teenagers living in first-world counties, with their whole lives ahead of them - so what the fuck do they have to justify committing suicide over?
I think part of the cause is a lack of kids involved in extra-curricular activities. It's extremely important for parents to make sure their children find something they're GOOD at and make it part of a regular activity. Knowing you're good at something (or many things) can greatly help keep you motivated and raise your self-esteem, this is a fact. The impact of bullying can be greatly lessened if the kid has something else to focus their mind/attention on, something they enjoy doing. Even better if that activity allows them to make friends who also share in that activity, e.g. joining a sports team or club or something.
It's extremely important to keep children and teenagers BUSY, because everyone knows what most teenagers do when they have absolutely nothing to do - either shut themselves at home on their computer, or loiter in the streets potentially getting into shady shit.
It also seems the majority of cyber-bullying suicides are happening with teenage girls, with the minority consisting of boys who were victims of homophobic bullying. It's just some sort of weird trend I noticed when I tried to look up all the reported suicides over cyber-bullying.
Perhaps it's more common with females because bullying based on gossip/rumors happens a lot more amongst them, they take words a lot more literally. With males bullying tends to be far more direct. I dunno, just trying to analyze it.
In any case, parents play a big role in all this and they need to make sure that their children have a healthy mix of activities and just aren't left to themselves. Bullying is an unavoidable part of life and instead of PURELY blaming the bullies (which is just fucking stupid, bullying amongst children has existed since the beginning of civilization), find a way to help the kid deal with it and get over it. If the bullies are physically assaulting the victim then I can understand that adults need to quickly step in, but getting depressed and committing suicide over social networking? Is this the state of teenagers today, where their entire concept of self-worth/value revolves around facebook/text messages?
Parents, how can they just sit there and let their child reach such a stage? Looking you America.
Unless they are so incredibly weak-willed that despite living a perfectly normal life, mere words online are enough to cause them to kill themselves...in which case I would (cruelly) state that they were simply eaten by Darwin. With that kind of mental instability they're going to eventually find a way to kill themselves sooner or later.
These kids literally don't know the value of life, they don't value their OWN life and consider themselves completely worthless just because some people online told them so. These are NOT people who have gone bankrupt with millions or dollars in debt, or facing life in prison, or born into terrible poverty where the daily stress + pressure have just become too much. They are perfectly healthy & privileged teenagers living in first-world counties, with their whole lives ahead of them - so what the fuck do they have to justify committing suicide over?
I think part of the cause is a lack of kids involved in extra-curricular activities. It's extremely important for parents to make sure their children find something they're GOOD at and make it part of a regular activity. Knowing you're good at something (or many things) can greatly help keep you motivated and raise your self-esteem, this is a fact. The impact of bullying can be greatly lessened if the kid has something else to focus their mind/attention on, something they enjoy doing. Even better if that activity allows them to make friends who also share in that activity, e.g. joining a sports team or club or something.
It's extremely important to keep children and teenagers BUSY, because everyone knows what most teenagers do when they have absolutely nothing to do - either shut themselves at home on their computer, or loiter in the streets potentially getting into shady shit.
It also seems the majority of cyber-bullying suicides are happening with teenage girls, with the minority consisting of boys who were victims of homophobic bullying. It's just some sort of weird trend I noticed when I tried to look up all the reported suicides over cyber-bullying.
Perhaps it's more common with females because bullying based on gossip/rumors happens a lot more amongst them, they take words a lot more literally. With males bullying tends to be far more direct. I dunno, just trying to analyze it.
In any case, parents play a big role in all this and they need to make sure that their children have a healthy mix of activities and just aren't left to themselves. Bullying is an unavoidable part of life and instead of PURELY blaming the bullies (which is just fucking stupid, bullying amongst children has existed since the beginning of civilization), find a way to help the kid deal with it and get over it. If the bullies are physically assaulting the victim then I can understand that adults need to quickly step in, but getting depressed and committing suicide over social networking? Is this the state of teenagers today, where their entire concept of self-worth/value revolves around facebook/text messages?
Parents, how can they just sit there and let their child reach such a stage? Looking you America.
Having been bullied both in real life and a little online I would like to point out that while the real life deal has left me in a state which makes me unable to trust anyone and the cyber bullying has made me roll my eyes and move on I don't get it either.
However I have heard about some pretty nasty things when it comes to cyber bullying and it isn't simply as easy to avoid as "don't go to those sites". I know a girl who got pissed at her sister and signed her up on a dating site for fat people with public email address. That's actually one of my more easygoing examples.
There was a guy who uploaded naked pictures of his ex on a few internet sites which made her look like the biggest slut in town. She had to move to get away from the abuse since almost everyone she knew had seen her naked and had their view of her.
There was also the girl who had once posted a picture of herself topless in the past and got bullied to the point where she switched schools and someone online blackmailed her unless she would give him a show.
Cyber bullying may sound harmless because it's something you can leave behind you when you get off the internet, but that isn't always the case. It can be more than just a few rude words or insults. Since a lot of us open up more online than we do to those in real life those clever cyber bullies also have an easier way to exploit over weaknesses and insecurities. Words can hurt and if they're well aimed they can shake our confidence even after going offline.
Are teenagers dense for not realizing how to avoid cyber bullying or are we dense for not understanding how cyber bullying (and human psychology) works? Honestly, I'd say it's a little bit of both.
However I have heard about some pretty nasty things when it comes to cyber bullying and it isn't simply as easy to avoid as "don't go to those sites". I know a girl who got pissed at her sister and signed her up on a dating site for fat people with public email address. That's actually one of my more easygoing examples.
There was a guy who uploaded naked pictures of his ex on a few internet sites which made her look like the biggest slut in town. She had to move to get away from the abuse since almost everyone she knew had seen her naked and had their view of her.
There was also the girl who had once posted a picture of herself topless in the past and got bullied to the point where she switched schools and someone online blackmailed her unless she would give him a show.
Cyber bullying may sound harmless because it's something you can leave behind you when you get off the internet, but that isn't always the case. It can be more than just a few rude words or insults. Since a lot of us open up more online than we do to those in real life those clever cyber bullies also have an easier way to exploit over weaknesses and insecurities. Words can hurt and if they're well aimed they can shake our confidence even after going offline.
Are teenagers dense for not realizing how to avoid cyber bullying or are we dense for not understanding how cyber bullying (and human psychology) works? Honestly, I'd say it's a little bit of both.
Pretty sure eitherflarty said:
1) They feel obligated to use the social websites for some friend(s).
2) They have to see the people bullying them online in real life at some point, so they can't just ignore it.
3) They just haven't matured yet.
We have devoted the task of human interaction to the machines.
And yeah, a lot of people kill themselves over social sites.
And yeah, a lot of people kill themselves over social sites.
