by Chris Clegg

Carol Todd is an outstanding speaker.

She is the mother of Amanda Todd [Nov. 27, 1996 – Oct. 10, 2012] who killed herself at the age of 15 at her home in Port Coquitlam, B.C. after being the victim of cyberbullying.

Carol spoke in Gift Lake July 7. Her story will appear in a later issue. One thing she did say to the youth attending was that nothing a person posts on social media is a secret.

Not too many people truly understand that.

Or the implications that can arise.

The messages “shared” on social media can fall into the hands of any unscrupulous person in the future. Once they get a hold of it, they can post freely. It spreads worse than a wildfire or the plague.

I told Bonnie Lamouche after the presentation I would have liked to address the youth. The question I had for them was simple: “Would you like to have your Facebook or Twitter posts published in South Peace News next week?”

I would suspect the answer would be no.

However, there is nothing stopping media from publishing these posts. Except common sense, that is!

There is little interest in the day-to-day life of a teenager in Gift Lake, Whitefish, Peavine or High Prairie.
In today’s world, however, entertainment, sports and political figures are using social media as a way to issue news releases. There is nothing wrong with that. It’s no different than news reporters. In the end, what we write, we are responsible for.

For many youth, they are not experienced enough to know what to post and what not to post. Years of wisdom have not yet arrived to help guide them. Sometimes, even that doesn’t help.

In Amanda Todd’s case, she crossed the line thinking that a “friend” on social media was in fact a “friend”.
Anyone can claim to be a “friend” on social media when it’s too easy to sit behind a keyboard and lie. Todd’s “friend” turned out to be a predator who used blackmail to get what he wanted. The situation only worsened once it began.

Today, the courts are dealing with him.

Today, the courts are still trying to figure out how to handle social media.

The fact is the world’s courts are 20 years behind making laws to govern this out-of-control phenomenon.

The other situation surrounding her demise was her schoolmates posting nasty messages, hurtful messages. Messages meant only to hurt and destroy. If you go online and examine the history, one quickly realizes no good could have possible come from the posts.

In short, here is what happened to Amanda Todd: she was blackmailed into exposing her breasts via webcam, and she was relentlessly bullied after being assaulted on social media.

The courts have to catch up and deal properly with social media.

Until then, we only have our common sense to guide us. I would urge not only youth but everyone to use it wisely.