Causal Analysis: Against Bullying

1054 Words5 Pages
Causal Analysis: Against Bullying Bullying: When it’s Too Much to Bear All forms of bullying can lead to suicide because of verbal abuse, constant harassment, and the never-ending cycle of hurtful pranks. Megan Meier was only thirteen years old when she hung herself in her own closet (Stelter). Two weeks earlier, Megan had been talking to a new boy she met on myspace.com, a website similar to Facebook. She soon spoke with this boy every day after school, thinking he was the only kind person she could trust (Stelter). On a day that will be remembered in the Meier household forever, Megan received hurtful and devastating messages from the boy who pretended to be her friend. The last message she received was, “The world would be a better place without you” (Stelter). Meier, who had been taking anti-depressants, was pushed to her breaking point. She committed suicide in October 2006 (Stelter). An investigation revealed that the boy Meier had been talking with online was not a boy at all, but the mother of a former friend of Megan’s, who lived just two houses away. Lori Drew was found guilty of three counts of computer fraud, for violating MySpace’s terms of use by creating a false profile (Stelter). Since Meier’s death in 2006, Megan’s Law has been passed in Missouri (where Meier lived), and other states around the Midwest. Even though justice has been brought for Megan, cyber-bullying has continued to spread around the country, with no hope of ever slowing down, and experts have asked, What makes people bully over the internet, and how can we stop it? In a study done by doctoral candidate Ikuko Aoyama and advisor Anthony Talbert, researchers found that cyber-bullying happens more often than traditional bullying because of the obvious lack of face to face interaction, as well as the bully remaining anonymous makes it easier to bully back others (Laster). Ms.

More about Causal Analysis: Against Bullying

Open Document