A student documents a bully pushing a fellow student against a wall.
Oprah interviewed the parents of Ryan Halligan, a thirteen-year-old boy who committed suicide in 2003. His parents believe his death was a result of constant bullying.
The following is a continuation of the article found on Oprah’s Web site from May 6, 2009.
The bullying continued on and off until seventh grade. To his parents’ surprise, Ryan said he was becoming friends with one of his bullies, but things quickly took a bad turn. “He spread a rumor around the school and online that my son was gay,” John says. “It was like a feeding frenzy. All of a sudden, kids who normally didn’t bully Ryan got in on the so-called fun.”
Ryan started getting vulgar, homophobic e-mails but didn’t tell his parents. He also began long online chats with a girl he liked—which turned out to be a devastating setup. “In front of her friends, she told Ryan: “Look, you’re just a loser. I don’t want anything to do with you. I was just joking,’” says John, who says he learned about the incident later. “She and a friend started to laugh.”
A humiliated Ryan said girls like them made him want to kill himself. A month later, Ryan hanged himself in the bathroom of his home. “I remember screaming: ‘Why? Why?’” Kelly says. “I didn’t understand it. He just seemed so happy.”
Today, John shares Ryan’s story with students and teachers to bring awareness to the problem. “Cyberbullying is far more dangerous than what we had to deal with a generation ago,” he says. “The level of pain that can be brought about by this behavior is unbelievable.”
John says he had no idea his son was being harassed online until after his death, when he signed on to his son’s instant messaging account. It was there he says he learned of the taunts—and found evidence of his son’s deep depression. “It was very clear he had been contemplating and actually planning this final act,” he says.
At the time, John says he and his wife weren’t trained to see the signs of depression or suicide in their son. “That last summer he became very withdrawn,” he says. “I just thought he was becoming an older teenager who didn’t want to hang out with Dad anymore.”
Click here for the full article
When the school day ends students go online to socialize with one another. Unfortunately for some students, bullying doesn’t end when the bell rings. Bullies have utilized this technology to continue tormenting their victims outside of class settings.
Cyberbullying may seem like fair game to these bullies because they are off school grounds. Victims may feel powerless because not only does cyberbullying take so many forms, but there is no one to help put an end to it. However, SchoolTipline positively uses technology to put an end to all forms of bullying.
Students can feel empowered knowing they have someone to talk to and that the problem can be resolved by an authority figure. When students take a stand against bullies, the bullies will realize that all forms of bullying are unacceptable.
Tags: bullying, cyberbullying, harassment, Oprah, Ryan Halligan, schooltipline, suicide
May 19, 2009 at 5:24 pm |
It’s sad that technology that can be used for so much good is sometimes abused. It would be a terrible burden to know that bullying won’t necessarily end when the school day ends. It is nice to see that this technology is being used to also help students overcome the bullying they might be experiencing.