As I was scrolling through my newsfeed today, I saw several quirky and upbeat posts about finals week and the Christmas season. Then as I continued to scroll down my feed, I almost scrolled past a headline that read, “A 10-Year-Old Girl Hanged Herself After “Bully” Video Was Posted On Social Media”. The young age and the words “hanged herself” obviously caught my eye, so I opened the article. In all honesty, I was skeptical of the legitimacy of the article and the credibility of the source as I began to read the story. However, the pictures of the beautiful and so precious little girl that were included in the article made the reality of this terrible tragedy set in. I felt my heart quickly shatter into a million pieces as I processed the tragic story of Ashawnty Davis, just a child who had so much life ahead of her. There are so many things I could say about this terrible story and the sad reality behind it. Instead of dissecting and analyzing each event in chronological order, I just want to discuss a couple things that are heavy on my heart.
After seeing that post I googled “Ashawnty Davis” and there are several articles written about this same story published by other news sources. Every article concludes with the same heartbreaking ending- a girl taking her own life at a very young age. Without young age as a factor, suicide is already an extremely sad tragedy and delicate subject. In some cases, factors that contribute to an individuals decision to commit suicide are out of anyone else’s control because those factors may be unknown to anyone besides the individual. In Ashawnty’s case, however, one very obvious factor that led up to her decision to take her own life was undoubtedly controllable and preventable by others- bullying. At any age, any kind of negativity towards an individual is harmful to different extents, and people are constantly being negative towards one another. Because of this, the term “bullying” has gradually lost its significance. However, in today’s society, bullying is a real and ongoing problem especially among children and adolescents in schools. When associated with the tragedy of suicide, the significance of the term “bullying” begins to resurface. Individuals who are bullied are almost ten times more likely to commit suicide. For little Ashawnty, she was a victim of both bullying at school by her peers, and cyber bullying on social media after her peers posted the confrontational video between Ashawnty and her accused bully. Just a couple weeks after the video was posted, Ashawnty’s parents found her almost lifeless little body hanging in a closet at their homes. Two weeks later, on November 29th, Ashawnty passed away in the hospital. The clear cause of her death is suicide, but I can’t help but believe that a child that young could not possibly understand the concept of suicide or even begin to know how to deal with feelings such as the ones Ashawnty experienced leading up to her death. At the age of ten, a child lacks an abundance of knowledge but knows just enough to act impulsively without understanding the possible consequences. There are several reasons the issue of bullying needs to be given more attention, but the most important reason is to prevent the tragedy that ended Ashawnty’s life. I don’t think people realize the power of their words and actions towards others until something of this magnitude occurs, and by that point, nothing can be done to reverse or change the damage.
I personally think the parents of Ashawnty Davis have every right to say the school could have done more to intervene. In my opinion, a tragedy like the death of a student as a result of bullying makes it very clear that the school could have gone to much greater lengths to intervene and prevent such tragedies. Children should be continuously encouraged to treat people with kindness, and their behaviors and interactions with each other should be carefully monitored. I feel like even though schools claim to have some type of anti-bullying program, efforts can always be improved and increased. With the constant progression of technology and social media, children are now able to access the internet at a young age, which presents an abundance of dangers. The internet opens up a whole new dimension for bullying through cyber bullying. Because of the accessibility of internet to children, I think all social media platforms should be blocked on grade-school’s WiFi networks, and the usage of smart phones should be prohibited during school hours.
As for the role of parents and family members in bullying prevention, I think the foundational principles on which parents raise their kids should be based on good moral conduct and respect for others. Furthermore, I think parents should make an effort to to be so involved in the child’s life that the child feels comfortable talking about issues and emotions. I personally do not think children under the age of at least thirteen should be given any access to smartphones or social media. Even at thirteen, I think parents should carefully monitor the child’s social media, search history, and message history so that parental intervention can take place if needed.
All that to be said, no person should ever be bullied to the point of ending their own life. A majority of society lacks sensitivity, respect, and consideration for others mainly because the human race is very self-centered. However, even the slightest increase in efforts to prevent bullying and promote kindness can make a difference.
Little Ashawnty Davis’ life might have been short, but it was definitely not one without purpose. Her story will be used to raise awareness and ultimately save lives. I pasted a link to the story below.
