So, today I watched a movie that touched near and dear to my heart.. It's called "Cyber Bully".. Ever heard of it? I hadn't until I found it on the almighty Netflix.. And it sparked my interest.
High School wasn't the easiest part of my life.. Honestly those three years were some of the hardest, for so many reasons. Family drama, boy drama, self drama, and school drama that came right along with friend drama. But the worst, the very worst, was the bullying, and the bullying that followed me home on the Internet..
Bullying is a very serious thing that so many of us overlook. We turn our backs on it, act like it isn't there. Did you know that in most states cyber bullying is something that literally has no laws or consequences? I'm serious. They don't even count the hurtful and harmful things people say to others on the Internet as any form of harassment. Amazing, isn't it? Cyber bullying can be even worse than bullying that happens at school, or even in the work place. Why? Because even if bullying is happening at a public place, at least the victim can go home, to a safe place, but that safe place is taken away when the bullying has spread to emails and text messaging and online profiles... Then, suddenly, the victim doesn't even have that anymore.
I know how it feels to feel absolutely lost and alone.. To have all that hurt come into your life. At first you tell yourself they are just words.. Then it keeps going and going, and more and more people catch word of it, less and less people talk to you, more and more join in on making fun of you because they are afraid of being made fun of instead. Eventually it consumes you.. The words get worse and worse.. The bullying keeps going and going.. Hitting the Internet where most adults who could defend you and help you don't see it.
My story started with an argument between me and my closest friends.. An argument that lead to us no longer being friends. And those friends proceeded to lash out at me. I was called a slut, a liar, people said I would sleep with any guy that came along.. Eventually boys even started claiming I had slept with them.. Rumors went around that I would be pregnant before graduation.. I started getting harassing messages on facebook with hurtful words.. People started prank calling boys and leaving messages about wanting to have sex with them, and all sorts of disgusting things.. And then leaving my name at the end of the message.. So then I started getting messages from friends, and parents telling me to leave their sons alone..
It all spread like wild fire. No end in site. And eventually my only friend was my mom. And it hurt to realize it all stemmed back to a stupid argument between me and my "friends".. Eventually I got suicidal, like so many other victims of bullying.. Only I was one of the lucky ones who didn't succeed in going through with it.
Both in person and online bullying are real. They are ignored way too much.
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