A couple of weeks ago my 17 year old nephew took his own life at my parents' place. My 83 year old dad woke up on Sunday morning and found him hanging there in his backyard. Taking the phone call from my little sister, his mum, was the absolute worst moment in my life. I personally still can't believe it.
The reason I am bringing this up here is just to give all the parents of teenagers a heads up about what is going on. Aaron was a decent kid and loved by many people. Only since his death has it come to my attention how popular he was. But he had been troubled for the last couple of years. I still don't know the complete details but the crux of the matter is that he had been a victim of bullying for a very long time. I was aware that he'd been bullied at times. But had no idea of the extent to which it had effected him on the inside.
I remember being bullied myself at various times growing up. It was hell. But at least when I was at home with my family I felt safe. The problem now is that these kids are hounded by the bastards 24/7 on social media. Half the time by people half way around the country, even the world, that they have never met. The amount of information the kids share about themselves to the world is bloody scary. And they don't realise that when they type a message or a status update that it can be taken any number of ways depending on the mental state of the reader.
Another problem is that the old methods we were taught of standing up to them and giving the head bully a black eye doesn't cut it anymore. They carry weapons now. The schools don't want to deal with it. And the police can't do much without names. The kids are just too bloody afraid to talk to any authorities because the pricks seem to just be there wherever they turn. Then there's the threats to hurt other friends, girlfriends and family members.
I don't know what the answer is. But I suppose as parents we can start by teaching our kids not to make themselves targets. And I truly believe that the big difference now is the internet and social media. Kids are just not emotionally equipped to deal with it especially when you throw in puberty, general teenage angst some physical bullying. And as parents we should not encourage it at all.
And if you have teens who seem withdrawn and don't want to get out of bed or leave the house, talk to them and keep a close eye on them. Even if they tell you they are ok, they may not be.