Amanda Todd: How cyberbullying led to suicide

Lots of you might have heard Amanda Todd's heartbreaking story. She was bullied to the point where she couldn't take it anymore and took her own life. The problem of cyberbullying is getting worse, and it has to stop. You have no idea how much something you say can affect someone. This is just one in hundreds of teen suicide stories, but as it is so publicised, I decided to do a bit of a case study on her.

15 year old Amanda Todd was bullied and committed suicide.

Amanda was just 15 years old when she took her life on the 10th of October 2012. She lived in British Columbia, Canada. I'll just explain her story very quickly.

• When she was 13 she went on chat rooms with her friends to meet new people. She was approached by a stranger, who complimented her. He called her "stunning" and "perfect". He asked her to flash, and she was flattered, so she did.
• A year later, the man messaged her on Facebook. He wanted her to put on a show for him or he would send a picture of her boobs out to everyone. He had her name, address, school, relatives, friends...
• A few weeks went by, and one night the police came to her house at 4 a.m. A picture of her breasts was sent to everybody.
• She got sick and depressed and anxious. She couldn't face the bullies at school so she moved schools. She started drinking and taking drugs. The man found her again and posted the picture up again. He made a Facebook page with her boobs as the profile picture.
• Amanda got bullied in school. She had no friends, no one to talk to. Everyone judged her, called her names and worse. 
• She started cutting. She moved schools again. Things were better, but she was still all alone.
• She started texting an old guy friend. He led her on, made her believe that he liked her. He had a girlfriend. One day he told her to come over, so she did. They hooked up. A week later, his girlfriend and 15 others came to her school. The girlfriend beat Amanda up. People filmed it, but nobody tried to help her. She lied in a ditch, waited for her dad. When he brought her home, she wanted to die. She attempted suicide by drinking bleach. She was brought to the hospital and flushed, and by some miracle, she survived. 
• When she came home, she saw that the bullies had written on her Facebook. Some said they hoped she was dead, others said she deserved it. Others recommended different brands of bleach. She moved cities. She overdosed. She had councellors and took anti-depressants.
• Five weeks before her death, she put a video on YouTube, explaining her story. She doesn't show her face in the video, and there is no sound, but she confirmed her identity with the last notecard, which says her name. I'm posting it down below.
• On 10th October 2012 Amanda's body was found in her house. She had hanged herself because she couldn't deal with the bullies anymore.

Amanda's story is really sad. It touched millions of people in the world. Facebook memorial sites for Amanda Todd have popped up all around the world and thousands of people have posted onto them. The Facebook Page R.I.P Amanda Todd has over a million likes at the moment.

The police is still looking for the man who harrassed Amanda online. The hacker group Anonymous have joined in too. They claim that they already found the people responsible. They sent the following message to the bully on YouTube:

Amanda was such a beautiful and talented girl. She did cheerleading and she could sing. She was very strong too. She tried to make a new start several times, but the bullies followed. Her death could have been avoided if only people realised what was happening earlier.

Amanda made a mistake, or a few. They ruined her life. She knew it, too. Five weeks before her death, she said, "I can never take that photo back. It's out there forever." But just because she made a mistake, it absolutely does not give anybody the right to bully her. Or anyone else. Amanda would still be here if she had the support of friends and peers. Nobody has the right to put a person down. Is it fair to judge someone on something they did years earlier?

However, Amanda's story is not the only one. There are thousands of teenagers in the world. Every day there are approximately 11 youth suicides. And that's not all. For every suicide, there are between 50 and 200 suicide attempts. Approximately 2.7 million students are bullied every year. Over half of surveyed teenagers have been bullied online. 1 in 3 teenagers say they have experienced cyberthreats online. With these shocking statistics, it is obvious that bullying and cyberbullying is a huge problem. 

"Bullying" seems like a very general term. It could range from a mild insult to life-threatening assault. What this man did to Amanda was not bullying. It was stalking and harrassment, via the Internet. Amanda was also depressed. She attempted suicide several times, she cut her wrists, she cried all the time, she took drugs and drank alcohol. She was reacting this way to the pain that comes with mental illness - physical, emotional and spiritual pain. She thought suicide was the only way out, she didn't realise there were other options. She tried to make a new start though, and she told her parents. However, in the end the pressure was too much for her. 

In Amanda's case, she's gone. It's too late to help her now. The million people who liked the memorial page on Facebook won't help her, and we can only hope that she is in a better place now, where she feels safe and where nobody can hurt her. However, there are other people who need help. Someone might need your help right now. Once a person's dead, it can't be undone. So if you see someone who is sad or depressed or alone, talk to them. Imagine if that was you. If the situation was reversed, how would you feel? Would you be grateful if a person talked to you, reached out, told you that everything was going to be okay? You really have no idea how much a little thing can make a big difference in someone's life. Don't make the person feel like a charity case though - they don't want your pity, they just want someone to be there for them.

Rest in Paradise, Amanda. <3

RIP to all teen suicides.

And to everybody who is contemplating suicide, just remember that there are other ways. Don't take your own life. You have so much to live for. Things can't get better if you give up.

To everybody who is being bullied, remember that there are people who love you and remember to stay strong. Don't let the haters own you. 

Please comment and share this story because it's so important for people to be aware of the consequences of bullying.