It was supposed to be a night of fun with friends. Nicole Edgington was celebrating her 17th birthday at a concert. But then the texts started coming in. \"Whore\"， \"slut\"， and \"scared snitch2)\". Other messages were even fouler3).

Horrified， Nicole sent out a slew4) of texts to find out what was going on. \"Some friends told me there was a secret plan to attack me，\" Nicole says. \"The plan was to attack me and slam my head into cement5).\"

Thankfully， the physical attack never happened. But a different sort of attack had begun on Nicole's life: assaults using texts and Facebook. Her tormenters6) never broke her bones or spilled her blood， but the terrifying experience devastated7) her.

妮科爾·埃金頓在音樂會(huì)上慶祝自己的17歲生日。那晚，她本該和朋友們一起開心地度過?？墒呛髞?，短信卻紛至沓來?！耙鶍D”“蕩婦”和“害怕的告密者”等字眼不斷映入眼簾。有些短信的內(nèi)容甚至更加不堪入目。

震驚之余，妮科爾發(fā)了好多條短信，想要弄明白這是怎么回事兒。“一些朋友告訴我，有一項(xiàng)旨在向我發(fā)起攻擊的秘密計(jì)劃，”妮科爾說，“有人打算襲擊我，他們想把我的腦袋狠狠地往水泥墻上撞?！?/p>

謝天謝地，妮科爾并沒有受到人身攻擊。然而，通過短信和臉譜網(wǎng)(譯注：由馬克·扎克伯格于2004年創(chuàng)建的社交服務(wù)網(wǎng)站)進(jìn)行的另類攻擊卻在她的人生中展開。雖然折磨她的人并沒有讓她骨折或流血，但這種可怕的經(jīng)歷卻擊垮了她。

Fateful First Day

災(zāi)難性的第一天

On the first day of Nicole's senior year of high school， some students got in trouble for coming to school drunk. Nicole had nothing to do with the incident， but unbeknownst8) to her， the busted9) kids wrongly accused her of turning them in10) to school authorities. \"I wasn't aware that I was being blamed until about two weeks later，\" Nicole says. That's when she found out about the secret plan to attack her.

After the plan to attack her failed， the texting and Facebook campaign against her went into full force11). \"I received hundreds of threatening texts and messages，\" says Nicole. \"I was shocked that people were blaming me for something I didn't do. I was terrified of the threats， and I was humiliated12) that the school was turning against me.\"

So many students sent Nicole mean messages that she couldn't get a fix on who the ringleaders13) were. \"They made my life a nightmare，\" she says.

Nicole's tormenters bombarded14) her. Vicious texts greeted her when she checked her phone. Taunting15) words mocked her from the screen when she opened her Facebook page. The sight of classmates talking among themselves in the cafeteria during lunch made her paranoid16). \"Are those kids at the next table whispering about me?\" she'd nervously ask herself. \"Or are they the ones texting me?\"

\"I always had my phone with me， and that made it impossible to escape from the horrific messages I was receiving，\" Nicole says.

在妮科爾升入高中畢業(yè)班的第一天，幾個(gè)學(xué)生喝得醉醺醺的來到學(xué)校，便惹了麻煩。妮科爾和此事并無關(guān)聯(lián)，可她并不知道，那幾個(gè)被留級處分的學(xué)生誤以為她就是那位向校方告狀的告密者，便對她大加指責(zé)?！安畈欢鄡蓚€(gè)星期以后，我才意識到自己正遭受著別人的指責(zé)?！蹦菘茽栒f。也正是在那時(shí)，她才對那項(xiàng)偷襲她的秘密計(jì)劃有所察覺。

偷襲她的計(jì)劃失敗后，通過短信和臉譜網(wǎng)向她發(fā)起的人身攻擊全面展開了。“我收到上百條恐嚇短信和消息，”妮科爾說，“我特別吃驚，別人因?yàn)槲也]有做過的事兒指責(zé)我。那些威脅讓我害怕，學(xué)校同學(xué)的翻臉則讓我感到很羞辱?！?/p>

好多學(xué)生都給妮科爾發(fā)來了惡意短信，以至于她無法確定這背后的那些主謀都是誰。“他們把我的生活變成了一場噩夢。”她說。

折磨妮科爾的人連珠炮似地對她發(fā)起猛攻。她查看手機(jī)時(shí)，惡毒短信便會(huì)最先映入眼簾。她打開臉譜網(wǎng)個(gè)人主頁時(shí)，電腦屏幕上就會(huì)出現(xiàn)嘲弄她的話語。在食堂吃午餐時(shí)，同學(xué)們竊竊私語的場景令她疑神疑鬼?！芭赃吥亲赖膸讉€(gè)人是不是在偷偷議論我呢？”她總會(huì)緊張兮兮地問自己，“他們會(huì)不會(huì)就是給我發(fā)短信的那些人??？”

“我總是隨身帶著手機(jī)，所以不可能看不到我收到的那些可怕短信。”妮科爾說。

Hurtful Words

傷人的言語

What made matters worse was that the bullying ruined her social life， much of which had been run through texting and Facebook. \"Prior to being cyberbullied， I was almost always on my phone or on Facebook，\" Nicole says. \"I socialized with friends via electronics when I wasn't with them. I never expected that technology would become my worst nightmare.\"

Instead of chatting with friends about TV shows and weekend plans， Nicole was reading one put-down17) after another—all directed at her. She tried defending herself by responding to texts and Facebook posts， but that just led to more insults from others. The barrage18) battered her feelings of self-worth. \"I began believing what people were saying about me，\" Nicole says.

She also felt helpless. Her parents contacted the school， but officials weren't prepared to help. \"At that point， the school didn't have a specific plan on how to react to cyberbullying， so they just offered condolences19) for what was happening，\" Nicole says.

A couple of close friends stuck by her， but she lost trust in many others who were involved in spreading rumors about her.

更糟糕的是，由于妮科爾主要通過短信和臉譜網(wǎng)與他人保持聯(lián)絡(luò)，網(wǎng)絡(luò)欺凌把她的社交生活也打亂了?！霸谠馐芫W(wǎng)絡(luò)欺凌之前，我的手機(jī)一般保持暢通狀態(tài)，也時(shí)常登錄臉譜網(wǎng)。”妮科爾說，“不和朋友們在一起時(shí)，我就用這些電子產(chǎn)品和他們保持聯(lián)系?？晌覐膩矶紱]有想到科技會(huì)成為我最可怕的噩夢?！?/p>

妮科爾不再與好友閑聊電視節(jié)目或周末計(jì)劃，而是讀著一條接一條的奚落短信，而這些通通都是沖著她來的。她試圖通過回復(fù)短信和臉譜網(wǎng)的帖子為自己辯護(hù)，卻招來其他人更多的辱罵。人們連珠炮似的責(zé)難沖擊著她對自我價(jià)值的評判。“我開始相信別人對我做出的評價(jià)了?！蹦菘茽栒f。

妮科爾還感到無助。她的父母聯(lián)系了校方，但校領(lǐng)導(dǎo)也無能為力?！爱?dāng)時(shí)，學(xué)校并沒有出臺應(yīng)對網(wǎng)絡(luò)欺凌的具體方案，便只對我的遭遇表示了安慰。”妮科爾說。

雖然幾位密友還繼續(xù)支持她，她卻對很多人都失去了信任，因?yàn)槟切┤硕紖⑴c了散播關(guān)于她的謠言。

Speaking Out

公開表示抗議

But as her cell phone continued to vibrate with awful texts， an idea came to Nicole: She could stop this by controlling people's access to her.

She deleted her Facebook account. She vowed to ignore mean texts. That was difficult， but not responding became easier than trying to argue with bullies who were never going to stop harassing20) her. And Nicole figured out how never to read a hateful text. \"I know who is likely to send me something hurtful， so when I see that a message is from one of those people， I delete it before reading it，\" she says.

But ignoring the bullying wasn't enough. Nicole's mother Shawn Edgington formed the Great American NO BULL Challenge， with Nicole as the campaign's spokesperson. Speaking to kids about her cyberbullying experience has been healing for Nicole.

\"This has allowed me to stop running from my past，\" Nicole says. \"Instead of letting others tear me down， I'm able to live my life to the fullest while inspiring others to do the same. I am seeing how powerful it can be to stand up to21) cyberbullies.\"

Today， two years later， those kids who bullied Nicole still have not been silenced. A few have taken jabs22) at Nicole for speaking out against cyberbullying. But there was recently a moment when one of her tormenters expressed regret.

\"The message wasn't sent to me， because I had the person blocked，\" Nicole says. \"A friend told me that she received a message from someone who wanted to apologize.\"

Nicole's reaction? \"I instantly felt relief，\" she says. \"To finally， after all this time， hear someone say they were wrong in accusing me of doing something I didn't do was amazing. It made me feel like my world was one step closer to being in balance again.\"

但就在妮科爾的手機(jī)還在繼續(xù)因?yàn)槭盏綈阂舛绦哦駝?dòng)時(shí)，她萌生了這樣一個(gè)主意：如果她讓別人找不到自己，便能停止這一切。

她注銷了臉譜網(wǎng)的賬戶，并發(fā)誓要忽略那些惡毒的短信。雖然很難做到，不過，與其和那些對她騷擾不斷的惡棍爭辯，還不如干脆不理他們。妮科爾也學(xué)會(huì)了如何避免讓自己看到那些可惡的短信?！拔倚睦锴宄l會(huì)給我發(fā)來一些惡毒的信息。所以，如果他們中的某個(gè)人發(fā)來短信，我會(huì)在看到內(nèi)容之前就刪掉短信。”她說。

不過，僅僅忽略那些恃強(qiáng)凌弱的行為是不夠的。妮科爾的母親肖恩·埃金頓發(fā)起了“挑戰(zhàn)全美無欺凌”活動(dòng)，由妮科爾擔(dān)任該活動(dòng)的發(fā)言人。跟同齡人聊聊自己遭遇欺凌的經(jīng)歷讓妮科爾受傷的心靈慢慢愈合。

“這項(xiàng)活動(dòng)讓我不再逃避過去，”妮科爾說，“過去，別人的奚落令我精神崩潰；可如今，我能盡情地享受生活，并鼓舞別人也像我一樣做。我發(fā)現(xiàn)，勇敢地面對網(wǎng)絡(luò)欺凌會(huì)讓人變得多么堅(jiān)強(qiáng)?！?/p>

兩年后的今天，那些曾經(jīng)欺凌過妮科爾的學(xué)生依然沒有沉寂。有些人因?yàn)槟菘茽枌W(wǎng)絡(luò)欺凌提出嚴(yán)正抗議而對她進(jìn)行抨擊。不過，一位曾經(jīng)折磨過她的人最近向她表達(dá)了懊悔之意。

“我并沒有收到那個(gè)人發(fā)來的短信，因?yàn)槲野涯莻€(gè)人的手機(jī)號屏蔽了，”妮科爾說，“我的一位朋友告訴我，她收到別人發(fā)來的一條致歉短信?！?/p>

那妮科爾對此有什么反應(yīng)呢？“我立刻就覺得如釋重負(fù)，”她說，“經(jīng)歷了這么多以后，聽到有人終于承認(rèn)他們因?yàn)槲覜]有做過的事兒指責(zé)我是不對的，那種感覺真的太棒了。他們的道歉讓我覺得我的世界離回歸平靜又更近了一步?！?/p>

1.get even: 扯平，進(jìn)行報(bào)復(fù)，算賬

2.snitch [sn?t?] n. 告密者，告發(fā)者

3.foul [fa?l] adj. 下流的，辱罵性的，猥褻的

4.slew [slu?] n. <美口>許多；大量

5.cement [s??ment] n. 水泥

6.tormenter [t???ment?(r)] n. 折磨者；使人痛苦(或煩惱)的人(或事物)

7.devastate [?dev?ste?t] vt. 壓倒，使垮掉

8.unbeknownst [??nb??n??nst] adj. <口>未知的；不為人所知的

9.busted [?b?st?d] adj. 被降級的

10.turn in: 告發(fā)，檢舉；出賣

11.go into full force: 開始全面實(shí)施

12.humiliate [hju??m?lie?t] vt. 使蒙恥；羞辱；使丟臉

13.ringleader [?r??li?d?(r)] n. (騷亂、違法活動(dòng)中的)頭目，首惡，元兇

14.bombard [b?m?bɑ?d] vt. 不斷攻擊，痛斥

15.taunt [t??nt] vt. 嘲笑；諷刺；奚落

16.paranoid [?p?r?n??d] adj. 多疑的

17.put-down: <口>貶低(或奚落)的話

18.barrage [?b?rɑ??] n. 一連串，接二連三的一大堆

19.condolence [k?n?d??l?ns] n. [常作～s]慰問的詞句

20.harass [?h?r?s] vt. 不斷侵?jǐn)_，騷擾，擾亂

21.stand up to: 勇敢地面對；抵抗

22.jab [d??b] n. 攻擊，打擊

23.reinforcement [?ri??n?f??sm?nt] n. [～s]援軍

Nicole's Tips to Stop Cyberbullies

妮科爾對抗網(wǎng)絡(luò)欺凌的小貼士

If you're a victim of cyberbullying， here is Nicole's advice on how to put a stop to your tormenters.

* Block them. You can do this on Facebook through your settings， and you can do this with text messages by calling your service provider.

* Delete destroy. Some messages are going to get through to you. Nicole says that if you recognize the name of a bully， delete the message before reading it.

* The silent treatment. \"Bullies want you to fight back so they can continue to tear you down，\" Nicole says. \"But if you ignore messages， bullies can't continue to harass you.\"

* Call for reinforcements23). If you get a threatening message， tell a trusted adult.

如果你是網(wǎng)絡(luò)欺凌的受害者，以下是妮科爾就如何停止那些人對你的欺凌提出的幾點(diǎn)建議。

*屏蔽他們。你可以通過臉譜網(wǎng)上的設(shè)置將他們屏蔽，也可以聯(lián)系手機(jī)服務(wù)供應(yīng)商將他們發(fā)來的短信屏蔽。

*刪除和肅清。有些信息你可能沒辦法屏蔽。妮科爾說，如果你看到某個(gè)恃強(qiáng)凌弱者的名字，別看內(nèi)容直接就刪掉短信。

*沉默不語。“那些恃強(qiáng)凌弱者想讓你回?fù)?，這樣他們就能繼續(xù)令你精神崩潰，”妮科爾說，“不過，如果你忽略這些信息，他們就無法繼續(xù)騷擾你了?！?/p>

*請求支援。如果你收到一條恐嚇短信，把這件事兒告訴你信任的一位成年人。