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There is one nagging thing I cannot get out of the back of my mind whenever the topic of bullying comes up. We spend so much time trying to stop the bully. We look at the bully, the technology. Do we look at our kids? The most important thing of all. My son is going to be a tween in a few short months. And I am pretty sure bullying is not going to be undone by then. And technology is here to stay.
I ask myself. Did she REALLY not know to be cautious of pedophiles on the internet? Did she really not know that once something is up on the net it is there forEVER? Ok I get that teens are stupid by their nature. But it is sad to me that the mere promise of flattery would get a person to behave against their best interest. That is a kid whose need to belong were not being met. Then once done, are we really so uptight as a society that once the deed was done that the thought of someone posting it further would be that big of a deal? A naked chest?? I sincerely hope my child, having made the first mistake, would have the courage to say, *********, go ahead.
This girl was clearly very troubled. Trouble calls out to those would prey on our young people. I look at examples like that and think how do I help my kids be strong and confident, NOT troubled. So they won't be preyed upon.
Absolutely agree. If Amanda had owned it ( the bare breasted picture), the bullies would not have been able to pick away at her vulnerabilities. I don't blame her, her parents, or Facebook, but I wish she had been encouraged to confront it head-on, and not allowed to run. A trip to an island like St Martin, where topless is the beach norm, might have been helpful.
BTW Zim, the original page has been taken down. I can use my imagination to figure out how awful it was.
Kids can spot the weak from miles away. And, sometimes, kids suck.
Absolutely agree. If Amanda had owned it ( the bare breasted picture), the bullies would not have been able to pick away at her vulnerabilities. I don't blame her, her parents, or Facebook, but I wish she had been encouraged to confront it head-on, and not allowed to run. A trip to an island like St Martin, where topless is the beach norm, might have been helpful.
BTW Zim, the original page has been taken down. I can use my imagination to figure out how awful it was.
Kids can spot the weak from miles away. And, sometimes, kids suck.
I would bet my left arm that the sickos were not limited to the class of kid.
I would bet my left arm that the sickos were not limited to the class of kid.
I agree, and this is very disturbing. I was just reading that someone leaked autopsy photos of Amanda, and those were posted on the FB page by some sick clown, unlikely to be a classmate, but you never know. I just don't know what is wrong with some people.
There are organized trolling groups, out there who post horrid things on FB memorial pages. I bet that one or more of these groups is responsible for the vast majority of hate filled comments. I don't believe that very many (if any) comments are from actual teens who knew this girl.
While I by no know means am supporting or endorsing these trolls, this gave me pause:
"The underlying philosophical purpose or shared goal…would be to disrupt people's rosy vision of the internet as their own personal emotional safe place that serves as a proxy for real-life interactions they are lacking (i.e. going online to demonstrate one's grief over a public disaster like Japan with total strangers who have no real connection to the event)."
When you said memorial facebook page, my stomach clenched. Thousands of people commenting on your dead child's "memorial" page? They did not know him/her. They cannot remember him/her. His or her classmates will likely memorialize and pay their respects at the funeral.
Learning how to protect oneself is part of every new advancement.
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