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She Decided Not To Live

“And yet, her death had so many more actual causes.

Bullying. The neglect of a school district to handle the problem. Parents of the bullies who declined to take their kids’ behavior seriously.

And chief among them all, the fact that multiple eleven and twelve-year-old children were in the possession of smartphones and social media accounts.”





Y’all. I don’t know when we’ll see it. I mean- actually see it. This epidemic that is sweeping through our country and has been for years. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 10 and 24. SECOND. Between TEN YEARS OLD and twenty four. 

There were 1748 deaths by suicide in 2013 among teens aged 15 to 19 years old, and this number might actually be higher, as “some of these deaths may have been recorded as accidental.”

“In fact, reports show that 43% of teens have reported being bullied online, compared to 19.6% of those at school. With teen suicide rates being higher, the correlation between these deaths and social media may not be so far off.”

Where are we failing our kids? Is it the handing off of smart phones? The allowance of social media? The lack of parental involvement? Is there a digital distraction that keeps us from speaking to our children about these things?

In Ohio, an EIGHT YEAR OLD boy killed himself after being bullied. Was social media involved this time? No. Does it matter? No. A baby. He somehow got it in his head that death was a good idea. Who put that thought in his head? Can you imagine being that Mom?

She came home, called for her son. She didn’t hear him so she went to his room. And her baby was hanging from a necktie. Dead. Her baby. 

When eight and ten year old kids, twelve, seventeen year old kids, are killing themselves in these numbers, it’s time we ask ourselves what WE are doing wrong as parents. Does your kid need a phone? Maybe. Does your kid need a smartphone? I don’t know. Mine sure doesn’t. In fact, I’m not sure if The Boy needs a social media account. The definition of “need” is to require something that is essential. Is a social media account essential? No. It’s not. And neither is handing our ten year old an iPhone.

We get so worked up - I know, I do it too - about mass shootings. But how sad is that, really, compared to these babies who felt so badly about themselves that they decided not to live? 

If your baby decides not to live and you find him or her hanging by a necktie, will it be an issue then?









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