Youth Suicide: A Sensational Media Story

[Greg Bernhardt]

I'm sorry but if a 15 year old doesn't have the mind to know that if she puts her breasts out on the internet then she will be ridiculed then there is no hope for my generation.

Kids are generally very short sighted and ignorant. That has always been the case for every generation. It's just that within the last 15 years a powerful tool has been presented to them which can amplify any mistake they make. Mistakes that a lot kids make and most become forgotten. There is no denying she was foolish, but she was just being a kid while using a powerful tool. She doesn't "deserve" to die for that. She deserves a second change that early in life.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

No, but under the laws of most US states, "possessing" or "making" child pornography is a felony punishable with lifetime registration on a public hit list and massive restrictions on places they are allowed to be present or work.

Great... so arrest her if it is a pattern of behavior. That is no where near saying she deserved to die for flashing her breasts. Hordes of kids these days are sending body pics over cellphones. It's a huge problem, but this girl is not some anomaly.

 

[WannabeNewton]

There is no denying she was foolish, but she was just being a kid while using a powerful tool. She doesn't "deserve" to die for that. She deserves a second change that early in life.

While I don't deny your statement about the foolishness of teenagers (I've done my share of idiotic things these past few years), this wasn't her being a kid it was her being a prostitute. "Being a kid" is much too light a word and makes it seem like she was an innocent girl. She was far from innocent.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

While I don't deny your statement about the foolishness of teenagers (I've done my share of idiotic things these past few years), this isn't her being a kid it is her being a prostitute. "Being a kid" is much too light a word and makes it seem like she was an innocent girl. She was far from innocent.

I would never classify any 15 year old prostitute as anything but a victim. No matter, even prostitutes do not deserve to die. If anything, WE failed her.

 

[WannabeNewton]

I would never classify any 15 year old prostitute as anything but a victim. No matter, even prostitutes do not deserve to die. If anything, WE failed her.

Well to each his own as they say. You are more sympathetic and I admire that but I could never in my life hold an ounce of respect for a girl like this so I see no reason to feel remorse in any way.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Well to each his own as they say. You are more sympathetic and I admire that but I could never in my life hold an ounce of respect for a girl like this so I see no reason to feel remorse in any way.

Fine, but I'm guessing you feel this way because you only see her as her mistakes. If you were her friend or a relative, you might see that she was a lot more than that or had the potential to be more.

 

[snorkack]

She's 15, parents split, signs of mental illness, stalked and blackmailed by a stranger.

Yes.
Most of suicides have mental illness among causes. Large number of suicides are performed by people who are not mistreated by anyone in any manner, solely because they suffer from endogenous illness. Of the rest, large number of people commit suicide for reasons that people who do not also suffer from mental illness would have found altogether trivial, or at least not a sufficient reason for suicide.

Suicide itself is no proof that the bullying she suffered was serious. To say otherwise is to diminish the suffering of people who are bullied and mistreated in various equally horrible ways but instead of killing themselves continue to suffer and be miserable.

Also, just because she had signs of mental illness does not mean she did not bring consequences upon herself. Many people consume ethanol to treat depression - in long term, during hangover, it makes already bad mental illness worse. Many people use other drugs because of depression - similar results.

Another common way to handle depression - whether endogenous or caused by external causes like bullying, or both - is to seek love. When love is sought from an unsuitable person, however - in Amanda´s case, another girl´s boyfriend - again in the long term it makes bad situation worse.

 

[WannabeNewton]

Fine, but I'm guessing you feel this way because you only see her as her mistakes. If you were her friend or a relative, you might see that she was a lot more than that or had the potential to be more.

I agree with you: it is quite possible that I feel this way because no one I have had the pleasure of knowing personally has done anything even remotely as messed up as this girl; I have never personally met people like this girl nor do I ever want to. To me she is one of the most despicable 15 year old girls I have seen in recent news.

 

[lisab]

I agree with you: it is quite possible that I feel this way because no one I have had the pleasure of knowing personally has done anything even remotely as messed up as this girl; I have never personally met people like this girl nor do I ever want to. To me she is one of the most despicable 15 year old girls I have seen in recent news.

WBN, teens can behave erratically and take unreasonable risks. As a group they don't use much forethought. They rebel and act out - one very common way is to be promiscuous. The vast, vast majority outgrow rebellious behavior.

It's highly likely you *do* know lots people who have done really inappropriate things - they just don't want to share them with you, maybe because you're judgmental.

I'd suggest being a bit more compassionate.

 

[rootX]

While I don't deny your statement about the foolishness of teenagers (I've done my share of idiotic things these past few years), this wasn't her being a kid it was her being a prostitute. "Being a kid" is much too light a word and makes it seem like she was an innocent girl. She was far from innocent.

Few quick comments:
- She was not flashing to random strangers she just met online but people whom she was talking to for more than a year. Give the poor girl a break, having intimate discussion online or having sex with a guy is not same as prostitution or pornography!
- If someone flashes to you online that doesn't mean you can stalk her for her whole life and make her life miserably.
- Forcing others to do you a favor because you have their flashing picture is called blackmailing which is neither socially nor legally acceptable I believe.
- Spreading rumors about someone and socially ostracizing them is also not socially acceptable.

It's ridiculous the way you are degrading the dead girl and making false allegations such as calling her a prostitute. You need to understand what she went through before you mis-characterize her.

 

[Windadct]

Personally - I really do not believe this is an internet issue - Children and young adults, heck even mature adults, have been manipulated and abused since the beginning of time. I would hazard to say that today the issue is actually less severe / common than it has ever been, it is just that now because to the internet, international news media, cell phones with cameras everywhere - you hear of every single case today. 20 Years ago you heard about this only in your own country, 40 years ago only in your state - etc.
Does not mean we should not work to continue to find ways to help and prevent these issues, we have more tools available today and more / better understanding than ever.
A tragedy yes - but I believe that without the internet, even FB for that matter - this would be a bigger (more common) problem as there would be less info available and much harder to track and identify predators.

 

[cobalt124]

She needs to be seen for what she was. And before any of the labels in this thread applied to her, however valid, before all that she was a child, and society has allowed this to happen to a child.

 

[Travis_King]

I'm sorry but if a 15 year old doesn't have the mind to know that if she puts her breasts out on the internet then she will be ridiculed then there is no hope for my generation.

While it's true that it should be general knowledge that you don't want to put anything onto the internet that you aren't willing to be spread around the world, it's not as if she created a website and posted nudes. She was on a chat site and either sent a picture to a sole person or did so via webcam. I'm not condoning it, per se, but there is a difference between trusting (however foolishly or naively) that the person will keep it to themselves, and publishing photos in a public domain.

Well to each his own as they say. You are more sympathetic and I admire that but I could never in my life hold an ounce of respect for a girl like this so I see no reason to feel remorse in any way.

A pubescent girl feels intimate with someone and impulsively shows him her breasts and you could never respect her? You can't imagine sympathizing with her?

I agree with you: it is quite possible that I feel this way because no one I have had the pleasure of knowing personally has done anything even remotely as messed up as this girl; I have never personally met people like this girl nor do I ever want to. To me she is one of the most despicable 15 year old girls I have seen in recent news.

Messed up? What was "messed up". She flashed her breasts! This isn't some horrific, villanous deed. It's a teenage girl acting impulsively and naively. It was dumb, sure; without a doubt. But it's not so heinous as to villify her for it. 15 year old girls were doing worse than this when I was that age, and that was only a decade ago.

What sort of person says a teenager with emotional problems deserves several years of emotional and physical abuse because of a naive mistake she made in her past? We needn't only sympathize with saints, people aren't perfect, but they don't therefore deserve to die.

 

[WannabeNewton]

What sort of person says a teenager with emotional problems deserves several years of emotional and physical abuse because of a naive mistake she made in her past? We needn't only sympathize with saints, people aren't perfect, but they don't therefore deserve to die.

That is not all she did. There is much more information out there about all the messed up stuff she did. And to answer your question: I do. There is a difference between being bullied for something that is out of your control (looks, orientation, disabilities etc.) and being bullied for doing incredibly stupid and completely age inappropriate things. Call me an old fashioned 18 year old but I don't see how this is typical teenage behavior.

 

[rootX]

That is not all she did. There is much more information out there about all the messed up stuff she did. And to answer your question: I do. There is a difference between being bullied for something that is out of your control (looks, orientation, disabilities etc.) and being bullied for doing incredibly stupid and completely age inappropriate things. Call me an old fashioned 18 year old but I don't see how this is typical teenage behavior.

Could you even verify anything that you have been accusing her of?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Call me an old fashioned 18 year old but I don't see how this is typical teenage behavior.

If you think the punishment for doing "completely age inappropriate things" is death then yes you are either 500 years old fashioned or part of the Taliban. Time to rethink your moral code.

 

[Evo]

Let's not bring up what the girl did. She's dead and the adults in her life, parents, school, failed her. It's a tragic story that is oft repeated.