Business Storytellers

Monica Lewinsky, most notably known for the 1998 sex scandal with former President Bill Clinton, expressed her concern and feelings regarding cyberbullying, compassion and empathy towards the victims of bullying, and the increase of suicidal ideation related to bullying. Until recently, she was absent from the world because of humiliation and depression and expressed that was a time when digital electronics were new in that era and how it was used to publicly expose her love and relationship with the president. Due to such exposure and humiliation initiated by the media, Monica developed strong suicidal thoughts, which caused her mother to monitor everything she did including taking a shower with the door open. Ms. Lewinsky expressed how the culture today changed to a numbness of human humiliation, which personally allowed a different viewpoint regarding her situation compared to the initial exposure.

This lack of compassion and empathy has transpired all over the internet and is now a major problem in today’s society affecting 43% percent of teens aged 13 to 17. Monica shared a story of an 18-year-old college male who was secretly videotaped having sex with another male in his door room by his roommate who posted the video on YouTube. The result of the humiliation and comments from the students caused pain so great within the male that he jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge to his death. This type of behavior must stop but it must start with the attracting audience with taking a few simple steps to prevent the bullying. Some of the steps to prevent cyberbullying of victims include the following: know it is not your fault, do not respond or retaliate, save the evidence, tell the people to stop, reach out for help, use available tech tools, protect your accounts, and take action. Applying these steps to cyberbullying will help eliminate the cruel behavior, but also could prevent people from taking their life.

Suicide is growing among teens and needs and can be decreased greatly based on the actions of others and the compassion and empathy for the victim. To help identify someone who experiences suicidal ideation, here are a few tips to help out: 1) they write about wanting to die or kill oneself, 2) they write about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live, 3) they write about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain, 4) they write about being a burden to others, and 5) the write about seeking revenge. Acknowledging these signs of people will not only help you identify with suicidal ideation, but also will prompt you to seek help for the person experiencing the pain and help save a life in the process.