Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire

Written by Cassie Licari & Dominique Houle on 24/02/11

A boy’s eyes and mouth covered by red duck tape

Photo by John Macukas on Flickr

Last Christmas, a young woman from the UK left a message on her Facebook status saying that she was planning on committing suicide using pills. Many of her Facebook friends (some of the 1,082 of them) commented on the status. Most people left very harsh comments, while there were only a few who said someone should help or call the police. It wasn’t until the next day that her mother left a post on her wall for her Facebook friends to see: “My daughter Kelly* passed away today so please leave her alone now” (Daily Mail UK).

This horrible tragedy is one of the harsher examples of what is known as the Bystander Effect. This is just a fancy term meaning that the more people there are witnessing an event where someone is in distress, the less likely it is that someone will help (Canada Safety Council). In Kelly’s situation, those who read her status either ignored it or assumed someone else would help.

When it comes to the Bystander Effect, most of us can relate to the situation of bullying and cyberbullying. Sometimes those who witness it take place, often make the situation worse if no one stands up to the bully or tells an adult. This is how a dangerous situation can continue.

What Would You Do?

Regardless of whether or not we perceive a bullying situation to be harmless, or if we think “someone else will help”, we should always take threats like this very seriously. If someone is in distress, we should;

Speak up if it is safe to do so. Often, all it takes is one person to step in and say something to end bullying.
Get help or tell someone if you witness someone being bullied (and if you witness it online). Talk to the person who was being bullied and offer to go with them to talk to someone about what they experienced. A little support can go a long way!
If someone’s safety or well-being is in immediate danger, call 9-1-1 right away.

(DEAL.org)

Click here to learn more about bullying and cyberbullying, and how you can raise awareness. By intervening and helping others who are being treated unfairly, you become a leader who takes a stand against bullying. If it were you, wouldn’t you want someone to step in to help?

* Name changed for privacy reasons

3 Reader Comments:

Anne HouseMarch 7th

Keep up the good work Deal.org. I use your site very often and refer other officers to this site to get very valuable information. Thank you for sharing stories and putting great facts on your website.
Norman AndradeMarch 20th

Amazing website set up here, got the link from the RCMP site. great job, lets end bullying
Cst. Deanna Alford - Hinton ABJuly 27th

Each year Deal.org just gets better and better! I often use this site to prepare for presentations and to be more in the know when I enter into conversations. I appreciate the youth perspective and encourage others in Hinton to use the site.