A Virginia mom, Summer Bushman, now describes her late daughter, Autumn Bushman, as everything you’d ever want from a 10-year-old daughter. She was lively, a ball of energy, and active in school. But everything changed when she started getting bullied for her braces.
Autumn was in 4th grade, and everyone who knew her described her as a “bundle of joy.” She’s remembered most for her love of performing. When Summer braved through an interview with CBS, she described her late daughter by saying, “She never sat still… She really did care about others more than she cared about herself.”
Even in the few released videos, all you can see is a happy child — smiling as she wished her mother a happy birthday, smiling as she sang along to Taylor Swift’s hits, smiling as she performed with her school’s cheerleading team.
But Summer noticed a change when Autumn got braces. She was being bullied, sulked a little bit more, but her first instinct was to brave through the teasing. The only problem is that, in this era, bullying can follow you home if you have a phone. And while many have downplayed how significant cyberbullying can be, there have been more and more instances proving how dangerous it actually is.
There are much more harmful things a parent can do to their child than giving them a phone, but Summer still deeply regrets that decision. She revealed that she initially resisted giving Autumn a phone to keep in her bedroom, but her daughter insisted she needed it for her alarm. Eventually, the poor girl spent her nights reading mean comments about her braces, and on March 21, little Autumn took her own life.
Now, as Summer sits in her daughter’s room — neat and intact like she’s still around — she says it feels like a museum. She mourned her daughter and explained that she feels awful knowing she’ll never see her experience major milestones like prom or homecoming. Wistfully, Summer says with finality, “She deserved to live life.” But now, she has decided to redirect all her energy and use her tragedy, and the unwanted attention that came with it, to warn parents about the dangers of nighttime phone use.
A study from Virginia Tech revealed that teens who attempted suicide were gravely affected by nighttime phone use. According to the study, two-thirds of them attempted suicide after 8 p.m., and the majority had been using their phones around the time they had their darkest thoughts.
Dr. Abhishek Reddy explained that during the day, people have counselors, parents, friends, and others around who can make them rethink bad ideas. At night, however, it’s just you and a phone that can lead you down all kinds of rabbit holes.
Dr. Reddy suggested that for developing minds, maintaining good sleep hygiene includes keeping phones as far away as possible at night. Summer taking time away from her grieving to make sure this message reaches as many people as possible only accentuates how important it is.
