Massachusetts Cyberbullying Tragedy

As you may have already read, a student in South Hadley took her own life last week. The student was allegedly cyberbullied by other students in her school via text messaging and Facebook. This event again brings up the conversation of new anti-bullying legislature which has not yet been passed. Cyberbullying continues to be a growing issue for parents, students and school systems. If you feel that your child or student is a victim of cyberbullying, it is very important to talk to them. a lot of times, victims of cyberbullying will not talk to an adult about the problem. You may even want to talk to one of their friends about it if you can, but anything you can do to get information and try to stop the problem can be very important. While it is rare that victims of bullying commit suicide, they are negatively affected in other ways. Watch for signs of depression, anxiety, fear or anger especially after using the internet or getting a text message. The Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use has some very useful resources for parents and educators. You can also look back at some of our other blog posts about cyberbullying for more links and resources.