The Suicide of Ryan Halligan (2003)

13-year-old Ryan Halligan spent most of the summer of 2003 online. It was a safe place for him. He was small for his age, and he had a learning disability. Regrettably, the kids from school found Ryan online and began tormenting him over instant messenger. After a summer of finding no respite from the teasing, Ryan had to return to school where the bullying escalated. One girl, who was particularly cruel to him, called him a loser, to which he responded, “Its girls like you who make me want to kill myself.” And then he did. On October 7, 2003, his sister found him dead in the bathroom of their home. After Ryan’s death, his father began reviewing his son’s chat logs on the family computer. What he found shocked him and exposed the catalyst for Ryan’s suicide.

The Halligans have since befriended one of Ryan’s former bullies, and together they’ve gone on to educate others about the dangers of cyber-bullying.

Cyber Bullying Campaign Video *Based on True Story*

The United States v Lori Drew (2006)

On October 17th, 2006, thirteen-year-old Megan Meier received a message from a boy named Josh Evans saying, “The world would be better off without you.” Megan, who had feelings for Josh despite never having met him, took his words to heart. She was found dead twenty minutes later in her bedroom closet. She had hung herself.

What makes this story even more tragic is that Josh Evans did not exist. He was the creation of Lori Drew, who, together with her daughter, created the boy to find out how Megan felt about her daughter, among other things. According to Drew and a temporary employee who supposedly wrote most of the messages, the final missive was meant to end the charade and give Meier some sense of closure. Drew was arrested in 2008 for violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act but was acquitted in 2009.http://blog.koldcast.tv/2011/koldcast-news/8-infamous-cases-of-cyber-bullying/

WHAT IS CYBER BULLYING?

Cyber bullying is the electronic version of bullying. Instead of calling someone names to their face, you do it on sites like Facebook or send them threatening texts.

Definition 

The term "cyber bullying" was first coined and defined by Bill Belsey, as "the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others."(1)

Cyber-bullying has subsequently been defined as "when the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person".^[2] Other researchers use similar language to describe the phenomenon.^[3][4]

Cyber-bullying can be as simple as continuing to send e-mail to someone who has said they want no further contact with the sender, but it may also include threats, sexual remarks, pejorative labels (i.e., hate speech), ganging up on victims by making them the subject of ridicule in forums, and posting false statements as fact aimed at humiliation.

Cyber-bullies may disclose victims' personal data (e.g. real name, address, or workplace/schools) at websites or forums or may pose as the identity of a victim for the purpose of publishing material in their name that defames or ridicules them. Some cyber-bullies may also send threatening and harassing emails and instant messages to the victims, while other post rumors or gossip and instigate others to dislike and gang up on the target.

Surveys and statistics

The National Crime Prevention Council reports that cyber-bullying is a problem that affects almost half of all American teens.^[9]

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