IN MEMORIAM: VICTIMS OF CYBERBULLYING

We honor the memory of children who have died by suicide after experiencing bullying and cyberbullying.

Over the past two decades, with the rise of smartphones and the widespread use of social media, suicide has become the second leading cause of death among children ages 10–19.

These deaths are not a coincidence and they are not isolated incidents. The devastating loss of so many young lives is the result of inaction — a failure to protect children from dangerous harm.

This is a public health emergency and it is time to hold those who cause, enable, or ignore this abuse accountable. Every one of these heartbreaking tragedies was preventable. Our schools, policymakers, big tech and parents everywhere (including the parents of bullies) need to step up and protect children from this growing crisis.

Nate Bronstein, Forever 15

Nate’s bright future was cut short on January 13, 2022, when he died by suicide after being relentlessly cyberbullied by certain classmates and basketball teammates at the Latin School of Chicago through a group chat, Snapchat posts, and a separate message cruelly directing Nate to go kill himself. Nate reported the group chat and the Snapchat posts to the school, but the school did not take appropriate measures to protect Nate and the school did not notify Nate’s parents of the cyberbullying report as required by Illinois law. Nate’s story is why we fight back against cyberbullying. #BlockTheBullies

Azaria White, Forever 16

Azaria White was student from Atlanta, GA who began receiving an onslaught of hate in the form of cyberbullying. She received multiple cruel and harassing messages, including ones that explicitly told her to kill herself. Azaria White died by suicide. She was just 16 years old. This is why we fight back against cyberbullying. #BlockTheBullies

Cessandra “Cecci” Porter, Forever 17

Cecci was a senior in high school, active in cross-country, volleyball, basketball, choir and the drill team. But, Cecci was relentlessly harassed on Facebook by cyberbullies who made fake accounts to blast her with vicious words, including messages that asked her to kill herself. Just weeks later, Cecci was found dead in her house by her parents. She had taken her own life. This is why we fight back against cyberbullying. #BlockTheBullies

Rebecca Sedwick, Forever 12

Rebecca Sedwick struggled with mental health, compounded by the fact that she was mercilessly bullied in school and on social media. She was the unwitting recipient of unthinkably cruel messages like, “Nobody cares about you”, “You seriously deserve to die” and “Drink bleach and die.” Eventually, the relentless cyberbullying became too much for Rebecca to take and she ended her own life. She was in the seventh grade. This is why we fight back against cyberbullying. #BlockTheBullies

Ryan Last, Forever 17

Ryan Last was a straight-A student and a decorated Boy Scout who fell victim to a new form cyberbullying scam that is unfortunately becoming more and more prevalent: sextortion. A scammer struck up an intimate conversation with Ryan online, pretending to be a girl, going as far as sending a nude photo of this fake alias. Eventually, the scammer encouraged Ryan to share an explicit image of himself in return, before demanding a $5,000 ransom under the threat of making the photo public and sending it to Ryan’s family and friends. That night, Ryan took his own life. This is why we fight back against cyberbullying. #BlockTheBullies