Week #2, Article #3
Lakeland Florida Associated Press. (2013, September 12). Bullied 12 year old Florida girl commits suicide. San Antonio Express News- Associated Press
Category of problem/issue: Education, Health, Children
Level of problem: National
The article concerns: A young girl in Florida committed suicide after being bullied through several social media sites by over a dozen girls. The county sheriff is investigating to see if these students who bullied this girl should have charges pressed against them, like a recently passed cyber bullying law.
Why is this important to families/individuals OR how does it affect individuals/families?
This is important because bullying is becoming a really big issue in schools lately. Unless teachers, staff and peers speak up when they see a red light for someone who is having issues like being bullied and considering suicide, this problem will only get worse. Having anti bullying and cyberbullying policies are much needed in todays society.
What are your views on the issue/policy?
This issue is one that really scares me. I have heard countless stories of young people getting bullied in schools and people never noticing until it was too late. Suicides and suicide attempts happening more often in today's school aged generation. There not only needs to be a policy in place in every state, but also more resources available to these students who are facing difficulties. If every state and every school had a strict anti bullying policy, outcomes like this may be less common. And above a school policy, there needs to be serious punishments for those who bully constantly until they break a certain individual. Many times I hear "i used to be bullied. Its no big deal. It only lasts a like a week". But in today's society, we are all constantly linked and in touch with each other via social media sites. Sure, there was a point where there was the "school bully" that you only sometimes encountered at school, but you can no longer leave that bully at school when you go home if you have access to social media or other means of communication like cell phones and text messaging. I was not personally allowed to have a cell phone until my sophomore year in high school. I have a brother who is in 6th grade, and he has his own cell phone now. He can only call and text family, and has no internet access, but still. And although he does not get bullied, he, like many other kids, has an open way into the cyber world of bullying. And as much as I think that schools and the government have a huge part to play when it comes to this, I have to say that the people who are the most responsible for bullying outside of school are the parents to these children. This 12 year old girl in Florida that committed suicide had multiple social media applications in use, and had photographs on her phone of her suggesting her suicide attempt. Obviously a parent should respect their child's privacy as they become older, but 12 years old is too young for me to understand. As the oldest of 6 siblings and hopefully a future parent myself, I cannot imagine a 12 year old having unlimited and unmonitored access to the internet. This also extends to the parents of the over a dozen girls who were ganging up on her online. Who is to blame...?
No comments:
Post a Comment