Cyberbullying:stop the madness

Cyberbullying for the most part is when a school age child is tormented, harassed, threatened, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another school age child using the Internet or mobile phones. Currently, cyber bullying is one of the fastest growing problems facing school administrators around the country. Kids have killed each other and committed suicide after having been involved in a cyberbullying incident.

Ever heard of Megan Meier. She was a 13 year old from Missouri who had an online friendship on MySpace with a person she believed was “Josh Evans” a young boy near where she lived. In actuality, the “friend” was a group of individuals, including adults, who were intent on humiliating Megan because of a lost friendship with another child. Meier and "Josh" never met in person or spoke. They became "friends" and Megan later "fell in love" with her online buddy whom she had never met. Meier thought "Josh" was attractive. Meier began to exchange messages with this person, and was described by family as having had her "spirits lifted". But the communication eventually turned hostile. Josh still was sending troubling messages. And he apparently had shared some of Megan's messages with others. Megan, believing she had been rejected by "Josh," committed suicide in her home. Well as it turned out Josh was really an adult woman named Lori Drew. She told the police that the account was aimed at "gaining Megan's confidence and finding out what Megan felt about her daughter and other people."

I guess the point I was marking here is that. Cyberbullying can be done by any one of any age. We need to work to stop the madness. No one deserves to be bullied because every person has value and worth. Young people need to speak up for their friends when they see bullying happening, by giving support and expect accountability from the adults.