THE death of Charlotte Dawson has Australia reflecting on depression and the increasing incidence of cyberbullying via social media websites.
Ms Dawson, a prominent campaigner against cyberbullying, was found dead in her Sydney apartment on Saturday.
She revealed in her autobiography, Air Kiss & Tell, that she was frequently visited by the “depression bogeyman”.
The former model was hospitalised after an attempted suicide in 2012 when she received a torrent of online abuse on Twitter, including from one troll who urged Ms Dawson to hang herself.
Kate Carnell, the chief executive of Beyond Blue which campaigns to raise awareness about depression, says that bullying via social media can be a major factor in triggering mental health issues.
“Because people can bully anonymously, it makes it more likely and it makes it more dangerous,” she told ABC News Online.
“People do it because they think it’s smart, it’s funny, but the message we have to get out is that it’s not.
“It can do serious damage.”
