Posted: September 15th, 2022

Case Study: Bullying – The Amanda Todd Story

Case Study: Bullying – The Amanda Todd Story
50 points

Recent history illustrates that bullying is a growing problem among today’s youth in the United States. Amanda Todd, for example, was only fifteen (15) years old when she committed suicide after being bullied by her peers for over a year.

Watch the video titled “Amanda Todd’s Story: Struggling, Bullying, Suicidal, Self-harm” (8 min 55 s).

Video Source: ChisVideos. (2012, October 11). Amanda Todd’s Story: Struggling, Bullying, Suicidal, Self-harm [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej7afkypUsc.

This video can be viewed from within your online course shell.

Use your textbook, the Internet, and / or Strayer Library to research articles on bullying cases that occur today.

Homework help – Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:
Describe at least two (2) types of bullying to which Amanda Todd was subjected.
Identify at least three (3) consequences that Amanda Todd experienced as a result of being bullied and discuss her attempts to deal with them.
Recommend two (2) strategies that you believe Amanda’s parents, teachers, and authorities could have used in order to reduce episodes of bullying of Amanda and thus prevent Amanda’s suicide.
Compare at least two (2) similarities and two (2) differences between the bullying cases that take place today with those cases that took place when you attended high school.
Explain the key contributing factors that you believe led to bullying behaviors. Next, suggest at least three (3) ways in which prevention programs can reduce bullying cases overall.
Use at least two (2) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
This course requires use of new Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The format is different than other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review the SWS documentation for details.
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow SWS or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
Assignment help – Discuss bullying cases, strategies to mitigate the effects of bullying, and the effectiveness of bullying prevention programs

Case Study: Bullying – The Amanda Todd Story
Amanda Todd was a teenage girl from Canada. She got lured into making bad decisions by a cyber-stalker. The cyber-stalker started making threats to blackmail her and made sure that she got mentally tortured throughout her life. She was targeted online and in real life, which messed up her social life (YouTube, n.d.). Going to school also became unbearable for her, and so she moved into a new one. She decided to confide in a friend who used her for a sexual gain. She also got bullied in her new school. It became unbearable for her until she committed suicide. By sharing her story online, she wanted people to learn from what she went through.
There are two types of bullying that Amanda Todd went through. These were verbal and emotional. The two types of bullying affected her and were forced to move schools and her city. The verbal bullying involved people teasing, tormenting, calling her names, taunting, and even making threats to her. The emotional bullying involved being engaged in manipulative social relationships, intimidation, extortion, or being involved in social exclusion. At some point, she could not go out to avoid such situations. Her friends also stayed away from her to avoid being bullied for associating with her.
As a result of being bullied, Amanda’s self-esteem was lowered. She explained that she lost her respect and friendships (Lester, McSwain, & Gunn III, 2013). She tried to redeem her self-esteem by singing and performing in her room. She also moved schools and cities to find a place where she could stay away from the things that reminded her of bullying. The second consequence was when she tried to commit suicide by drinking bleach and overdosing herself. Amanda was taken to the hospital for treatment, therapy, and counseling and went back on track. The third consequence was depression and even cutting herself. She was treated for depression, and her parents tried to seek help from the authorities.
There are strategies that Amanda’s parents, authorities, and teachers could have used to stop Amanda from being bullied. First, they needed to address the issue thoroughly, confiscate her laptop, phone, and the webcam. They should have blocked any gap that could have created an opportunity for her to be on social media. Second, the parents could have monitored her closely by being keen of what she does and showering her with love, the teachers should have punished the bullies, and the investigators should have caught the cyber-bullies and charge them with a long term sentence. That is to let others learn from them.
Bullying has been there ever since, only that we try to find ways of reducing cases. For example, cases of calling names and talking behind other people’s backs were there when I was in high school and are still there in the present day and age. The only differences are cases of cyberbullying. Back then, very many instances of cyber-bullying used to be reported. Nowadays the cas3es are not as much despite the increase of new technologies every day. That is because the police department has learned to deal with such cases. The court has also introduced cyberbullying laws that, if violated, can lead a bully into serious trouble.
Lack of empathy and low self-esteem are the key elements that have led to bullying. That is when people feel like they want to belong or seeking attention to find solace in bullying others. Prevention programs help in reducing these cases of bullying. The programs address the needs of the people who have been through bullying. People of different age groups get help, including families and various groups in the community. The programs also offer counseling sessions to the victims and support them until they fully recover.
In conclusion, Amanda Todd suffered from depression and anxiety from being bullied. A simple mistake that she did once tormented her all her life and forced her to attempt suicide several times and later succeeded. It is the responsibility of the parents and the people in authority to provide safety to the kids. They should be more concerned about these kids’ personal life. As a way of boosting a person’s self-esteem, they tend to bully others in different ways. The bullies also have to be tracked down and go through therapies and counseling to stop them from causing harm to others.

References
YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej7afkypUsc
Lester, D., McSwain, S., & Gunn III, J. F. (2013). Suicide and the Internet: the case of Amanda Todd. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience.

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