I really didn’t mean to have a voice for anything when I started speaking out against injustices. I only felt something so strong that I couldn’t shut my mouth. And for those who really know me, you know how hard it is for me to keep my mouth shut.

Today, my town was divided over an issue that involved a handful of people. My town took sides and made their stances. People sent me horrible messages and tried to instigate fights in comments with me. Mocking my stance and my feelings about cyberbullying, and it took all of me to ignore those comments. Not because I am a great person but because I know I will not win them over on a Facebook post. Today, I’m ashamed of my town and how easily we were divided.

And, yes, I took the time to report every single post I saw with that poor girl’s photo in it, even if it was in support of her because I’m sure she wants to disappear now. She doesn’t want anyone to know her face. She doesn’t want anyone in her business. If you don’t like what I did, please unfriend me because friends support one another. Friends look out for one another. Friends care for one another. We don’t have to be friends. That’s a lesson I learned the very hard way.

If you see something painful on Facebook, you can do something without saying a word. You can report a post and have it removed. To report a post, tap the three dots beside it and select the appropriate reason you are reporting it. Today I chose to report posts because of bullying. To select bullying, choose “something else,” and then select bullying.

You can’t report anything that you can’t see. And if you find an original and it’s removed, it will remove all the shared ones too.

I want to thank all of you who have contacted me today. I want to thank those of you who are concerned for another person’s well-being. I’m concerned for another person’s well-being, too. I pray I never add pain to the lives of others, even though I know I am a flawed human who makes mistakes daily.

Researchers at the Universities of Oxford, Swansea, and Birmingham reviewed previous studies on cyberbullying, which involved more than 150,000 across 30 countries over a 21-year period. They found that cyberbullying raised the risk of self-harm or suicidal behavior 2.3 times.

Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means.

Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers.[1] Cyberbullying is when someone, typically teens, bully or harass others on social media sites. Harmful bullying behavior can include posting rumors, threats, sexual remarks, a victims’ personal information, or pejorative labels (i.e., hate speech).[2] Bullying or harassment can be identified by repeated behavior and an intent to harm.[3] Victims may have lower self-esteem, increased suicidal ideation, and a variety of emotional responses, including being scared, frustrated, angry, and depressed.[4]

If you or someone you know is being cyber bullied here is a site with a list of resources to report the content: