The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a disturbing new report. The rate of suicide in the United States has increased by 24 percent for all ages under 75 over the 15-year period from 1999 to 2014.
Even more concerning, this includes children 10 to 14, especially among young girls. This is happening in spite of “aggressive efforts” to curtail suicides according to Dr. Maria Oquendo. Oquendo is the president-elect of the American Psychiatric Association.
An unfortunate theory for the increase in the suicides is social media. In today’s world, kids are increasingly interacting with each other over the internet and social media services instead of in person.
Bullying over social media has already been linked to the rise in depression in teenagers. Cyberbullying has also been shown to be a factor in the suicides of teens all over the country.
In 2010 Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old, gay Rutgers student, killed himself days after his roommate secretly taped him having sex with a partner. Clementi’s roommate later streamed the encounter online to others. Clementi’s case brought new attention to cyberbullying and the plight of LGBT youth.
Before that in 2006, Megan Meier, a 13-year-old Missouri teen, hanged herself after a former friend and her mother humiliated her with a fake MySpace account. Sarah Drew and her mother, Lori Drew, used an account under the name Josh Evans to befriend Meier.
Later on, the messages became more negative. Eventually, the Evans account told Meier “[t]he world would be a better place without you.” Megan Meier killer herself soon after.
Just last month, 20-year-old rising R&B singer Kehlani, attempted suicide after she was cyberbullied over Instagram due to a photo posted by her ex-boyfriend, singer PartyNextDoor. The photo implied that Kehlani had been cheating on NBA star Kyrie Irving, though the two were not in a relationship at the time.
Social media sites are supposed to be fun distractions. Parents shouldn’t have to worry that their child may end up harming themselves because they spent time on Facebook or Twitter. As Kehlani’s case showed, even celebrity is no shield. What can be done about it?
Featured image from video screengrab.
