Amanda Todd’s death by suicide—after her video disclosing bullying and harassment —creates a media tsunami
The death by suicide of Amanda Todd, who disclosed in a YouTube video the bullying and harassment she had been experiencing, created a tsunami of media attention. Social media—which was directly involved in her suffering—propelled her story to the front pages of local and national newspapers and websites around the world.
Martin Laba, an associate professor at Simon Fraser University specializing in media and pop culture analysis, told the Maple Ridge News he was surprised by the global impact of Todd’s story. “You’d have to have been living in a hole to have not heard about her story,” he said. “It truly went viral, and was particularly driven by social media.”
Amanda Todd’s death was mourned by young people around the world. Those thousands included young people who have experienced being bullied in their own lives.
We speak with Nanaimo anti-bullying activist Kristyn Robert.
Image from Amanda Todd’s YouTube video.
RELATED | Kristyn Robert: Vancouver Island Bullying Support Group | Kristyn Robert: Let’s Put an End to Bullying |
