Amanda Todd, a 15-year-old Canadian committed suicide after a prolonged battle of being bullied online by her peers. Not long before her death, Todd posted a video on YouTube that went viral, where she described her story in full extent, showing the world that she was strong, not bidding for attention.

What started off as a joke on webcam with a bunch of friends messing around with random guys soon escalated when Todd was asked to “flash” the guys, and she obliged, not realizing that this tiny mistake would haunt her for the rest of her life. From what Todd explains in her video, one of the men soon began to stalk her and demanded that she “put on a show” for him, or he would distribute her pictures on the Internet, and to the community. Todd did not reply and brushed it off. Soon, she began seeing her topless photos everywhere around her. She was bullied, mocked and had lost all face with her peers, her parents moved to a different city in hopes of starting a new life.

Again, however, Todd found herself in trouble after “hooking up” with an old friend who she had thought had actually liked her. This “old friend’s” girlfriend found out, and came to Todd’s school with a group of friends and proceeded to physically abuse her. Todd described the event to be tormenting, and that she had never felt so alone in the world. Like most victims of bullying, she felt she had lost hope, and began to believe she really was worthless.

Some argue that Todd brought this upon herself: she flashed the men  and she slept with another girls boyfriend. On the other hand, others argue she was a helpless girl who wanted attention, and like most kids her age, wasn’t thinking of the consequences.

The main question is, however, is if all this attention justified?

Another girl committed suicide at around the same time as Todd; she was a studious person, played sports and was loved by everyone in her community for her kind heart, but struggled with depression. Nevertheless, was anything heard about her in the media? Nope.

So what does that say about the society we live in? Do we feed off the negative?

Absolutely. Many girls have committed similar promiscuous acts, and have received praise for it. Many girls in high schools have a higher status among guys because they are known for being more likely to give sexual favors to them. No matter what the perception of someone’s actions are, it will always be based off of adverse action.

There is no awareness of the consequences of suicide, our children do not understand that it is not the answer. The key to suicide prevention would be offering a better alternative. The value of talking to someone and getting proper help has been undermined.

At the end of it all, Amanda Todd’s story is tragic, just like every other suicide story, but it does not deserve the amount of coverage it was getting. The media has glorified suicide with the constant coverage victimizing notable fatalities, instead of offering alternatives.