Discover the testimony of a young girl who wished to share her story. Victim of cyberbullying, It is aimed at those who are bullied, those who bully, and those who remain silent... We are sharing her testimony as she gave it to us, in her own words. Let's talk about it and take action together against cyberbullying!
My cyberbullying
«I was a victim of cyberbullying at the age of 12 over a period of eight months.
I have a unique story: I was never bullied at school. So my cyberbullying did not arise after bullying at school, nor did it lead to bullying.
I was a 12-year-old teenager with a lot of hang-ups. For a long time, I was self-conscious about my body! When I entered adolescence, I gained a lot of weight, about 15 kilos, which led to stretch marks and other issues...
I have always been very shy, but these insecurities made things worse, so in order to have a normal social life, I started to be very active on social media, particularly on online video games.
Thanks to these online games, I was able to make friends without them judging me on my appearance. I met lots of amazing people until the day I met a boy who I didn't like at first. I would even say we hated each other, but I got to know him and fell in love with him. We'll call him L., but the problem was that he lived near Montpellier and I lived in Paris. We talked a lot and decided to become a couple after thinking it over for a long time.
Five days later, my cyberbullying began!
One of the people who was close to L. at the time started talking about me within the school. Unfortunately, people were not happy for my happiness. A group of girls looked me up on the internet and found me easily. For the first two months, it was only this group of girls who were picking on me!
At first, it was insults like «bitch», «slut», «whore», «prostitute», insults that now seem so mild to me! It was all day long, without a break, on every social network. At first, I tried to respond: I asked them why me? What had I done? But the only answers I got were insults.
I read every message that was sent to me. I did this for the first two months. I replied to each one, I reported every fake account that was created to insult me, but after two months, I gave up because it only made things worse! One account deleted, two recreated! Then, after two months, the boys arrived and everything got worse!
It wasn't just insults anymore, it was photomontages they threatened to publish, «I didn't get my pocket money, you'll give me a discount on the pipe,» «I'm going to blow your little arse up,» and thousands more. It was constant, night and day, day and night, without interruption! In the end, there were about fifty of them harassing me every day. Hundreds of fake accounts had been created, but I didn't say anything to anyone!
This went on for eight months until the day L. committed suicide! That day, I never received anything again! All the fake accounts disappeared, everything disappeared, along with my joie de vivre and everything else, but I continued to keep quiet for a year.
Until the day I almost did something irreparable and decided to talk about it! I was diagnosed with depression, and even now, two years later, I still suffer from social anxiety. I find it extremely difficult to form relationships with people my own age. I am painfully shy.
I still suffer from the effects of this cyberbullying today. I fought relentlessly for a year to get through it. Today, I am doing better and I was fortunate to have the support of my loved ones, teachers and a psychologist.
I am not sharing my testimony in order to elicit pity; on the contrary, I am sharing my testimony to convey different messages to different people.
To those who harass : Stop!
I know that many bullies are uncomfortable in their own skin and in their own minds, and believe me, I sympathise, but violence towards others will destroy you more than it will help you. I know that in some cases you see no other way to exist or to feel better than to crush or hurt others, but there are other solutions, believe me. There will always be someone there to listen to you and help you, and there will always be people who appreciate and support you. Asking for help is not shameful, and admitting that you are not well is not shameful either; on the contrary, it shows immense courage. Stop destroying others, because at the same time, you are destroying yourself!
To those who bully for fun or to follow the crowd for fear of being bullied themselves, I will never understand you. Can you really enjoy being purely and simply mean? And to those who follow the crowd, can you look at yourselves in the mirror without closing your eyes?
To those who remain silent, stop keeping quiet..
I know it can be scary, that we fear reprisals, ending up alone, becoming the «victim» ourselves, but believe me, in this kind of situation, you are not neutral as you claim to be. You are silent harassers, you are just as responsible as those who insult others! So take action, because if you unite to shout your love and your hatred of harassment, we will no longer see hatred or harassment!
To parents who are going through this Without knowing what to do or how to react, I know that it can be confusing and incomprehensible for you at times, but be there for your child. Try to understand them; you will eventually succeed. Talk to them, comfort them and, above all, support them and accompany them whatever their choices, because it is not their fault. They are not the problem; they are probably going through awful things, so love them and show them that they can tell you anything and trust you.
To the teachers and others, if a young person shows even the slightest sign, help them; you can make a difference.
If you are being harassed, speak up!
I know it's hard to feel ashamed and believe that everything is your fault, but that's not the case. You are not the problem! You are fighters and you can get through this. There is always a future. There is an end to all your problems. They are not eternal, and even though I don't know you personally, I believe in you! Turn to your parents, friends, teachers, school counsellors... or support groups. I promise you that one day everything will be better! It will be long and difficult, and sometimes it will feel like you'll never make it, but I assure you that you can, and that life will be even more beautiful and fulfilling afterwards!»
