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Teen Suicide

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Submitted By jarskii23
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Jonathan Russell
Comp 1112-06
Dr. Washington
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Teen Suicide

What possible circumstances could ever lead a teen or college student to the point where they want to end their own life? In the year 2004 it is estimated that roughly 1,600 teens between the ages of fifteen and nineteen will end their own lives (Hosansky). In the same study, it is also stated one in every five high school students consider killing themselves. It is sad to think anything could push these young people to that point. What causes them to do such a thing? Is it pressure from parents, bullying, experimenting with alcohol, or something as simple as feeling alone? Teens today have pressure coming from everywhere, whether it be from parents, coaches, or even peer pressure from friends. There is not one leading cause to teen suicide, but the pressure put on teens is one major component. Teens feel like they cannot handle the pressures of everyday life and when something goes wrong they turn to the “easy way out” and end their lives. It is sad to think they feel that death is the only way out. One way that teens in fact feel pressure is from people they consider their friends. Today it is so easy for teens to communicate without actually seeing one another face to face. Due to ease that technology presents, it is for teens to talk without actually seeing each other; cyber bullying has become more and more of a problem. In a story written by a young boy’s parents, they explain the extreme negative effects of cyber bullying. John Halligan writes a story describing what happened to his son and the effects that cyber bullying had on his life. In the story he explains that his son, Ryan, was a friend of a bully who then turned against him. He started a rumor that Ryan was a homosexual, but Ryan then began talking to a girl over the internet in the summer. His

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