What is ASK.FM?
ASK.FM is a social networking site where teens can send and receive anonymous questions and comments. Teens can connect to this website through their Facebook and AIM accounts. The website allows for online conversations and does not require that teens reveal their identities. Many teens claim to innocently set up ASK.FM accounts hoping to hear positive affirmations from their peers. However, the temptation to use this site for cyber-bullying and harassing other teens is prevalent. The users have the ability to say whatever they want without any filters or repercussions.
The body of Rebecca Sedwick was found at an abandoned cement factory in Lakeland, Florida after the seventh grader set out for school Monday morning but never made it there. Rebecca is believed to have taken her life because of a long history of being Cyber-Bullied. Only a few hours before Polk County Sheriff deputies found her body, Rebecca Ann Sedwick changed her name on a social media messaging application to "That Dead Girl," but no one noticed until it was too late. The bullies were two girls, twelve and fourteen year old classmates.
The problem started because of a boy who both Rebecca and the fourteen year old liked. It started with name-calling and turned into bullying where she enlisted help from other classmates.
Time Line of Rebecca Sedwick
• In November of 2012, Rebecca runs away from home, but returns.
• In December she's hospitalized for cutting herself. She blames it on bullying.
• Her mother files a bullying report with the school district.
• School officials say their investigation turns up nothing and they forward the mother's online bullying report to the Sheriff's Office on December 17.
• In January, deputies respond to Crystal Lake Middle for a disturbance involving Rebecca. School officials step in, hold mediation and change their schedules, separating the students in class.
• The next month Rebecca is removed from Crystal Lake Middle and home-schooled for the remainder of the year.
• Her mother closes her Facebook account.
In August, Rebecca switches schools but the bullying continues online, unbeknownst to her family
• The social media she used is ASK.FM
• “Yes IK I bullied REBECCA nd she killed her self but IDGAF,” the Facebook post read. Grady Judd, sheriff of Polk County, Florida, said the online vernacular meant “I don’t give a (expletive).”
• Police on 10/14/13 arrested two girls, ages 14 and 12, in connection with the death of Rebecca Sedwick, who jumped from the top of an abandoned concrete plant last month.
The girls, minors who are not being named, were charged with aggravated stalking. During a press conference, a sheriff used examples of comments posted by the suspects. These comments were displayed on large poster boards to help show the seriousness of the bullying. Some of the comments were, “why are you still alive?” and “why don’t you kill yourself?” and the confession that she knew she bullied Rebecca enough that she killed herself but that she didn’t care. It is likely that these girls will get off free because all they have to say is that their accounts were hacked and that it wasn’t really them doing the bullying. Unfortunately, there may not be enough hard evidence for a conviction.
The result of the suicide has caused widespread awareness of anti-bullying. There is more information for parents to help monitor their children’s social media and also what these sites may entail. It is unfortunate that a young life was taken for this awareness to be spread but it needs to be shared so that more lives can be spared. For example there is now a facebook page dedicated in Rebecca’s memory, and has links for how to stop bullying and how to identify signs of depression.
From an ethical standpoint, ASK.FM should be held somewhat responsible in the death of Rebecca. The problem with this particular site seems to be the fact that people can comment and ask questions completely anonymously. This creates a breeding ground for cyber-bulling to happen. When someone is communicating with another person digitally, such as text messaging, a lot of the time people will say things that they would never say if they were communicating face-to-face. ASK.FM eliminates people's restraints completely by allowing them to be one hundred percent unknown to others, giving them the freedom to be as mean, threatening, and crude as they want to be without any repercussions at all. One of the co-founders of ASK.FM, in response to the first rash suicides stated,
"Mass media is knocking on wrong door. It is necessary to go deeper and to find a root of a problem. Its not about the site, the problem is about education, about moral values that were devaluated lately. ASK.FM is just a tool which helps people to communicate with each other, same as any other social network, same as phone, same as piece of paper and pen. Don’t blame a tool, but try to make changes… start with yourself… be more polite, more kind, more tolerant of others… cultivate these values in families, in schools. Suicide is not something to encourage via mass media. The more you promote suicide, the more it happen. Do you think mass media cares? They want scandals, they want sensations and finally they want money. Sorry, but we do not want to participate in it. What happened is a true tragedy and we give our deepest condolences to the victim’s family and relatives."
Updates on the case.
Charges against two Florida girls accused of bullying a 12-year-old former classmate to her eventual suicide will be dropped, local authorities announced November 20th.
"Our goal was to create an intervention. Our goal was to bring this conflict to the proper authorities to make sure it was dealt with. And it was dealt with," said Judd.
The two girls are receiving counseling he said, so that they will "never bully anyone again, never torment again."
It is sad that bullying is happening to young teens around us. I saw it happen in my family with my little sister. When she was 16, a classmate of hers started to bully her. It started on Facebook where he told his friends that she was “loose” and it transferred from cyber-bullying to physical bullying. Situations that she became a victim of included: pooping in her truck, putting dead fish in her truck, egging her house, and having vicious rumors spread around the school about her. It forced her to transfer schools and caused her to forgo a full year of athletic eligibility. These events were psychologically effecting her in a big way. Her self-esteem was damaged and she had a hard time making and keeping friends. It seemed as if she was constantly getting "new best friends" and the turnover of those were happening frequently. Our family has a very strong support system with each other and even though we were all involved in supporting her and unconditionally loving her, it was still a very difficult thing for her to endure. Those who are being bullied without the knowledge or help from their own parents or guardians are at a much higher risk and have a much harder time coping with these situations. Because social media is the cultural and social norm of teens, there really isn't a great way to go about combating it. If you aren't involved in it, you're missing out, and if you are involved in it, you run the risk of being a victim of it. Parents need to be very involved in what their children are doing and sometimes need to ask the hard questions. Bullying, even in the smallest degree, is not acceptable and should not be tolerated.
Teenage Suicides In The Last Year Were Linked To Cyber-Bullying On Social Network ASK.FM
