“At 9:13 P.M….At 9:17 P.M….at 1:37 A.M….At 6:39 P.M….At 5:20 P.M….at 7:44 P.M….at 9:41 P.M…” (Parker).

Choosing a quote for this week’s MVP was quite difficult. In Parker’s article alone there were numerous passages that caught my attention, especially those which made reference to the cyber world. Within 6 minutes of internet time, Ravi knew about Tyler’s musical interests, sexual orientation, computing needs, and personal beliefs printed on T-shirts. He easily and rapidly shared this information with friends online. Every single comment Ravi has made is now being used against him. Every comment or IM has minute-by-minute play-by-play. For Ravi, the possibility of prison and potential deportation hang over his head. If the aforementioned isn’t scary, what is?

The most prominent aspect of the article, for me, was the influence of the internet and its role in Tyler’s suicide and Ravi’s case—the internet is 100% to blame. Though to pre-millennials the twitter and webcam jargon may be perceived as convoluted nonsense, to the current generation of youth, the internet holds great potential—and not all of it is positive. Cyberbullying is a serious issue that has plagued numerous adolescents for about a decade and will continue to do so. Because teens want to express themselves and be heard, they post online. But from the moment they do, they open their doors to unsolicited peeping toms. Though they are no longer children, they have not reached full maturity (as we have learned) and need guidance from a parental figure to explain to them the dangers of the internet.

I DO NOT believe that Tyler’s suicide was caused by his choice to publicly share snippets of his life to the world. In my opinion, it is due to the lack of self-esteem in Ravi and his bystander actions. He waited until the last minute—actually 5 minutes too late—to share with Tyler what he should have shared before. However, the internet is to be treated with great caution as one becomes exposed from a simple comment or tweet, and not everyone is sincere.