An Empty Audience : Isolation Within Middle Schools and the Pain it Causes

An Empty Audience 

I still remember that call to the principal’s office, and the way a cold torrent of anxiety flowed through me when I heard my mom was here to pick me up. It was a sunny, yet cold day, and I was in the middle of an English class with my favorite teacher. Other students described her as a witch, but I found her eccentricities charming, and her classroom juxtaposed her demeanor with a warm and cozy feel. She noticed how nervous I was and said everything was probably fine.  

But it was the exact opposite, because I had a folder filled with letters hidden behind my bed’s headboard. And while searching for something in my room, my blissfully unaware mother found that folder, and the note I had written in 8th grade before attempting to kill myself. 

A report from the CDC in 2020 shows that suicide was the second leading cause of death for 10-14 year olds, also known as middle school students. These children will be referred to as tweens, for short. This snazzy moniker represents how the kids are on their way to being viewed as teenagers, minus any of the benefits or responsibilities of being one.  

Regardless of what adults might think, these tweenagers do in fact have a lot on their plate. Life is stressful, and they’re just starting to grow up and understand themselves and the world around them. It has been proven by NAMI that 50% of all mental illnesses start presenting symptoms at age 14. 

It feels a little ridiculous that I even had to write about this issue, to make an argument to you, the people. But that’s the reality of the world we live in, where this issue is so prevalent, and children are often so unhappy with their lives that 7-8% try ending them each year. 

I had to ask the professor to come over to double check my paper. To ask if the opening story was too much. I felt shame bubbling in my stomach, wondering if I was really doing the right thing by arguing about this issue. Wasn’t I just seeking attention? Really, there’s no need to go this far, it’s good and over with now— 

But it’s not my fault, and it never was.  

 Studies have shown that a strong number of those who’ve attempted have internalized feelings of shame and guilt, due to the stigma that there is against suicidal people. The victims shouldn’t have to fear being seen as lesser. They shouldn’t have to fear even being seen at all, being ashamed of who they are and what they’ve dealt with. While I've already clearly outed myself, there are as many as 157,000 people hospitalized yearly for injuries resulting from an attempt. 

By properly educating teachers and staff on this epidemic of loneliness, establishing support groups, and making schools a welcome place to be, these kids can be saved from killing themselves (or trying to), and grow up to be happy, well-adjusted adults.   

 

Figure 1. The kids after becoming happy, well-adjusted adults. The Simpsons 

There are a few main reasons to which the finger can be pointed for this epidemic of dead and struggling children. For example, a rise in smartphone usage and a decline in social skills is cited as one of the reasons students have difficulty fitting in with their peers. By using their phones so much, tweenagers start to replace other activities, such as going outside and being active. This results in them also spending less time around real people. Their little socializing muscles start to atrophy, due to missing all the nuances that come with talking face-to-face with people. Smartphone usage (and social media) has been shown to correlate with higher anxiety rates as well, which can lead to withdrawal from social activities when the opportunity to socialize presents itself.  

An unprecedented increase in the hostility of the school environment is also a great contributor. The decline in social skills I mentioned earlier is part of this, due to people lacking vital things such as respect, empathy and kindness in their little hearts. This has led to a massive surge of loneliness among everyone, not just tweenagers. Surgeon General Murphy has classified social connection into 3 main aspects; structure, function and quality. The pandemic-era tweenagers have great deficiencies in all of the above, leading them to have substandard skills and being total losers. By teaching kindness and empathy, teachers can help foster a more caring and less hostile environment. They can also foster a sense of community in the classroom, by making sure every student gets heard. They can also pull their heads out of their asses every once and a while to notice gateway behaviors, such as; eye rolling, laughing cruelly, name-calling, causing physical harm, and stalking, to name a few. These behaviors are shown to be linked to the start of bullying behavior. 

Cyberbullying also contributes to the horrid environment greatly. Due to its versatility in being able to happen anytime, cyberbullying is an especially potent way to isolate children and cause great harm in a way that is often less regarded seriously. A digital citizenship program is a great way to combat this, since these neanderthals don’t even know how to address an email properly.  Making all students sign a Responsible Use Agreement is also a good course of action to take, since some might not take heed of the education, and are therefore held responsible for their actions!  

People might argue that this builds resistance. If the kids can’t handle it, it’s their own fault. It weeds out the pansies and snowflakes, and the world is better off without them. It’s the kid’s fault for being too weak. Goodbye junior libtards, you won’t be missed! 

 Alternatively, if you agreed with any of those prior statements, I think YOU should kill yourself. 

 

Figure 2. LowTierGod 

 

Not so nice hearing it yourself, is it now? Common courtesy and basic human decency sure goes a long way. 

So, to save those little kiddos from becoming suicidal social pariahs, the governing bodies that be should take note of these problems and put programs into place to remedy them. It’s just one of the many better things they could spend their time doing instead of making claims that aliens are eating the pets of the people in Springville. Parents could also stand to educate themselves a little more, instead of claiming that the left is making their children gay.