Girl’s Suicide Points to Rise in Apps Used by Cyberbullies

Do you really know what your kids are doing when it comes to social media and mobile apps? The recent suicide by 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick in Lakeland, Florida is a sad reminder that cyber-bullying happens daily, and despite their best efforts, some parents may not even know about the apps that are being used to torment their children. Rebecca’s mother had complained when she was bullied at school; she had Rebecca switch schools, and even took away her phone and switched her number to protect her from bullies, but unfortunately, it was not enough to save Rebecca. Rebecca seemed to be doing better, but she was hiding the fact that she was still in pain and receiving hateful messages on apps that her mother wasn’t familiar with, such as ask.fm, Kik, and Voxer. Rebecca's mother, Tricia Norman, said, “I had never even heard of them; I did go through her phone but didn’t even know. I had no reason to even think that anything was going on. She was laughing and joking.” Rebecca is not alone; many other children face this type of relentless bullying on a daily basis. “It’s a whole new culture, and the thing is that as adults, we don’t know anything about it because it’s changing every single day,” explains Denise Marzullo, chief executive of Mental Health America of Northeast Florida in Jacksonville. Bullying is never acceptable, and the unexpected loss of Rebecca is a reminder that more needs to be done to stop it. Tricia Norman’s advice to parents is, “Don’t ignore your kids, even if they seem fine.”

The New York Times, 9/13/13