Cyber Bullying Victims:
Megan Meier
From the Megan Meier Website: "I had this God-awful feeling and I ran up into her room and she had hung herself in the closet." Megan Taylor Meier died the next day, three weeks before her 14th birthday. Later that day, Ron opened his daughter's MySpace account and viewed what he believes to be the final message Megan saw - one the FBI would be unable to retrieve from the hard drive. It was from Josh and, according to Ron's best recollection, it said, "Everybody in O'Fallon knows how you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a sh***y rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you."
Megan was the victim of three people who were putting on a charade. They had Megan believing an attractive teen named Josh liked her. In the end, the three kids turned 'Josh' on her because they were tired of the act -- they hoped that Megan would stop communicating if Josh was mean. This would be a classic case of "Mean Girls" cyber bullying. From what I have observed, Mean Girls tends to be the most volatile group of cyber bullies.
Megan was the victim of three people who were putting on a charade. They had Megan believing an attractive teen named Josh liked her. In the end, the three kids turned 'Josh' on her because they were tired of the act -- they hoped that Megan would stop communicating if Josh was mean. This would be a classic case of "Mean Girls" cyber bullying. From what I have observed, Mean Girls tends to be the most volatile group of cyber bullies.
Ryan Halligan
Ryan was a victim of Cyber Bullying who also suffered from depression. He had an entire online life that he hid from his parents.
"My son the comedian told his new friend something embarrassing and funny that happened once and the friend (bully) ran with the new information that Ryan had something done to him and therefore Ryan must be gay. The rumor and taunting continued beyond that school day … well into the night and during the summer of 2003. During the summer, my son approached a pretty “popular” girl from his school on-line and worked on establishing a relationship with her; I’m sure as a surefire way to squash the “gay” rumor before everyone returned to school in the fall.When the 8 th grade school year started up again, Ryan approached his new girlfriend in person. I’m sure he was never prepared to handle what happened next. In front of her friends she told him he was just a loser and that she did not want anything to do with him. She said she was only joking on-line. He found out that her friends and her thought it would be funny to make him think she liked him and to get him to say a lot of personal, embarrassing stuff. She copied and pasted there private IM exchanges into ones with her friends. They all had a good laugh at Ryan’s expense." -From www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org
"My son the comedian told his new friend something embarrassing and funny that happened once and the friend (bully) ran with the new information that Ryan had something done to him and therefore Ryan must be gay. The rumor and taunting continued beyond that school day … well into the night and during the summer of 2003. During the summer, my son approached a pretty “popular” girl from his school on-line and worked on establishing a relationship with her; I’m sure as a surefire way to squash the “gay” rumor before everyone returned to school in the fall.When the 8 th grade school year started up again, Ryan approached his new girlfriend in person. I’m sure he was never prepared to handle what happened next. In front of her friends she told him he was just a loser and that she did not want anything to do with him. She said she was only joking on-line. He found out that her friends and her thought it would be funny to make him think she liked him and to get him to say a lot of personal, embarrassing stuff. She copied and pasted there private IM exchanges into ones with her friends. They all had a good laugh at Ryan’s expense." -From www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org
Pheobe Prince
Phoebe was an Irish girl attending South Hadley High School. After having relationships with two of the football players, she was tormented daily. This went from the 'Mean Girls' to cyber-mobbing very quickly. Much of the bullying happened using Facebook. People made "Hate Pages" about Pheobe. After a particularly harsh day, she was hit in the head with a soda can while walking home. She hung herself in the stairwell of her apartment building, where her 11 -year -old sister found her. After her death the taunting on Facebook continued.
Tyler Clementi
The case of Tyler Clementi is a classic case of "Inadvertent" Cyber Bullying. Tyler was a Rutgers University freshman who posted a goodbye message on his Facebook page before jumping to his death. His roommate had secretly filmed him during a "sexual encounter" with another man in his dorm room and posted it live on the Internet. His roommate for some reason thought this would be funny, but did not intend for Tyler to hurt himself. Now he will be responsible along with one of his friends for Tyler's death. Gay teens have always a higher suicide rate, and now with Cyber Bullying, it has been on the rise.
Guidelines for parents- This is a great packet from John Halligan, Ryan Halligan's Father
What can you do?
Plenty! Don't be a victim, be proactive.
1.-SAVE EVERYTHING! Save every text, chat, take pictures of hate pages.
2. Un-plug your child. (this should be #1) Change cell phone numbers, get rid of the computer (yes really, cyber bullying victims become addicted to the drama) remove the computer from their sight. Their mental well-being is paramount, and they need to get plugged back into real life and regain perspective. In a best case scenario I would advise you to take a small vacation with them, allowing them to get away from technology for a while. Again, the drama is addictive to them.
3.Contact the school's administration. Start by informing the principal of what is happening. Make sure you say, "the bullying interferes with my child's right to an education." If you do not feel you are getting the attention needed, send a letter also stating this and hand deliver it to the superintendent. Also, call the police. In severe cases, Cyber-Bullying is classified as harassment.
4. Ask your school if there is a way to anonymously report Cyber Bullying. If there is not, request one.
5. In the state of New York, all schools who receive E-Rate Funds are required to have a fully developed Cyber Safety program. You can ask about this curriculum.
6. Wiredsafety.org is a great site with a load of practical steps to take if you find yourself in this situation.
1.-SAVE EVERYTHING! Save every text, chat, take pictures of hate pages.
2. Un-plug your child. (this should be #1) Change cell phone numbers, get rid of the computer (yes really, cyber bullying victims become addicted to the drama) remove the computer from their sight. Their mental well-being is paramount, and they need to get plugged back into real life and regain perspective. In a best case scenario I would advise you to take a small vacation with them, allowing them to get away from technology for a while. Again, the drama is addictive to them.
3.Contact the school's administration. Start by informing the principal of what is happening. Make sure you say, "the bullying interferes with my child's right to an education." If you do not feel you are getting the attention needed, send a letter also stating this and hand deliver it to the superintendent. Also, call the police. In severe cases, Cyber-Bullying is classified as harassment.
4. Ask your school if there is a way to anonymously report Cyber Bullying. If there is not, request one.
5. In the state of New York, all schools who receive E-Rate Funds are required to have a fully developed Cyber Safety program. You can ask about this curriculum.
6. Wiredsafety.org is a great site with a load of practical steps to take if you find yourself in this situation.
