TED EDİRNE COLLEGE / 10-A
Be The Change You Want To See In The World
Nisa KAPLANER
Her name was Ashlynn Conner . She was a beautiful girl with short-cut brown hair and a big smile on her face . unfortunately , she was one of the victims of cyberbullies . She was teased and rumours were spread behind her back . It reached such a level that she begged her mother to homeschool her . After her mother , Stacey , refused home-schooling , the bullying continued through social media . Ashlynn had a lot of nicknames given by bullies like “ fat ” and “ ugly ”. When she got a haircut , she was referred to as the “ pretty boy ”. She was judged by everything she had done from eating habits to cutting her hair . The nicknames and bullying reached a whole new level . Everyone around her , even her mother saw that nonetheless , nobody thought it was that big of a deal . Nobody helped her or stopped this horrifying abuse . The harassment didn ’ t come to an end , but her life did . A pretty joyful 10-year-old girl was found dead hanging in her closet . She couldn ’ t get any help and it drove her to kill herself .
Cyberattack is a much bigger issue than it ’ s looks . It ’ s causing millions of beautiful young children like Ashlynn to feel desperate and close their eyes to the world before they have the chance to live it . Thus , we need to remind the community that we need to have the consciousness of the responsibility of the Internet . Make people aware of the concept of “ good digital citizenship ”. Be the sound of these children who couldn ’ t ask for help from anyone . So “ Be the change you want to see in the world .”. It might change someone else ’ s life too .
Around the world , about 37 % of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have been bullied online . However , only 1 in 10 victims have told their parents or trusted adults about the abuse . 60 % of young people have witnessed online bullying . Most do not intervene . 37 % of victims develop social anxiety . All these students who had been exposed to online harassment are almost twice as likely to attempt suicide , and Ashlynn was one of the teenagers who felt like it ’ s the only way .