Online bullying led to this boy's suicide

This scares me too on behalf of my DGDs, it is just awful. Children have not learnt to rein in the animal instincts to weed out the weakest and social media has meant that there is not even any respite for the tormented in their own homes these days. Bullying has always been around, I was bullied at school but I was able to escape at home.
Heartbreaking that children are regularly taking their own lives and I have no idea how the parents cope with the grief

Thank you for highlighting this Daphne. I believe it is such a serious issue that every school should give talks to staff and pupils, and it should be monitored on an ongoing basis.

Not easy to do I know, as you say, even 'nice children' do this, hiding behind the safely of the more obvious perpetrators. I think there is an inciduous culture of fear that envelopes and hooks in weaker children. Very much like the mass hysteria that the nazis invoked....and no... I don't think that's an extreme comparison. Bullying takes and away, and ruins lives.

What a shame that cuts in spending have meant schools no longer have the means to employ counsellors. Pastoral care is very much needed here.

Those who initiate bullying have serious issues of their own.That though does not excuse what this does to those whose life they make a living hell and in the case of this young man a loss of a precious life.
Their is always a ring leader ie a 'toughie'who will have followers.These 'sheep I will call them' become six feet tall in the company of 'toughie' They too like toughie may come from a disfuctional family or are bullied themselves at home..
Schools/workplaces must be held responsible. They must know it is going on and should make it known to those in their care they are there to be informed, and that this will be confidential,of ongoing bullying and who? are the ring leaders.Have any parents ever sued the educational authorities for failing to acknowledge their awareness that those in their care were victims of abuse.Time for a wake up call is necessary to stamp this mental and physical abuse out once and for all.

This is just shocking, and heartrending to read. It's just beyond me how people young and old can be so terrible to another person. My mother once told me that there is a very thin line between teasing and tormenting and that both should be avoided, something I have always tried to live up to. Those poor parents, and that poor young man to be driven to such lengths by such vile contemporaries is just too horrible.

Children and adolescents are much more vulnerable than adults, IMHO and it is easy to say "switch off chat forums" but if you had read the article, this boy (and he is not the first victim and will sadly not be the last) endured 7 years or being socially ostracised - friendships, birthday parties, "mates", every aspect of his young life.
I cannot quite put myself in his poor parents' place, it is too painful.

It doesnt just happen to children.
Adults too love bullying others.
The blame is put on the "sensitive" child or "sensitive" adult, or those that for whatever reason do not use abusive language back at the perpertrator. Or the victin "doesnt understand" or "are not bright enough to realise it is a joke" the perpertrators are "only messing".
Only moderators can stop it in my opinion.
Or else the young and old have to switch off the chat forums.