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Revenge porn is a type of cyberbullying that is on the rise. Also known as non-consensual porn, this occurs when photos of an intimate nature are distributed without the subject’s consent.
You may have heard of the tragic story of an 11 year old boy completing suicide after bad Facebook hoax was played upon him. My heart and condolences go to both of these families. As adults, we need to teach kids to tell us when they see someone posting about suicide, self-harm or eating disorders on any social media or texting platform.
Do you remember when Atari was the most popular, must have, latest gaming system? Or, when you got your first cell phone and it was used for emergencies only? How about when television ads first started to include that “www dot thing” at the bottom of the screen? Growing up, I can remember each of these instances and more as the world wide web began to infiltrate our homes and lives.
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for youth 10-24 and the numbers are rising. You may have recently heard of the Netflix series “13 Reasons Why.”
In the age of social media, adolescents are able to utilize digital peer pressure to influence behavior of vulnerable teens and tweens. The recent internet phenomena circulating social media sites is the Salt and Ice Challenge (SIC).
I’ve had hesitations posting about this story due to my view on contagion and the importance of following recommended guidelines on reporting on suicide.
I enjoy seeing the kindness of youth. I see it everyday and it helps to balance out some of the negativity in the world. It’s important that we all teach kindness from a young age.
“Dear Amanda, I have a teenage daughter who is on social media. I worry about her self-esteem and her comparing herself to other girls on social media. How do I help her develop strong self-esteem in this social media visually driven world we are immersed in?”
