Cyberbullies

Their photos show faces so young, so full of promise, just on the brink of life. Megan, Phoebe, Ryan. It is hard to imagine that they no longer live. And even more frightening to know that they chose to end their lives because of what is now a growing phenomenon, cyberbullying.

On March 21, another young woman, Alexis Skye Pilkington, just 17, ended her life. A former member of the West Islip High School soccer team in West Islip, N.Y., and purportedly a popular teen, she was also the victim of hateful and vicious messages on Facebook and a social-networking site, Formspring.me. Teens can anonymously ask each other questions there and receive public answers. Even after her death, the disturbing conduct has continued.

Phoebe Prince’s Irish accent and pretty smile made the 15-year-old different from the other students at South Hadley High School in Massachusetts. In this extreme example, Phoebe was constantly bullied in and out of school and through Facebook. Threatening messages were sent to her phone. All of this, supposedly, because she had dated a football player.

In January, Phoebe hung herself in a stairwell at her home.

Yes, bullying has always been a part of childhood. We all remember the whispered comments in the crowded hallways, the notes passed in secret during class or the inexplicable cruelties that seemed to be a part of childhood. Those tactics have been augmented by the popularity of Web sites, instant messaging, texting and capturing video. Combine that with the fragility of adolescence and you have a dangerous formula for tragedy.

— The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.