Students at a school attended by a girl who tragically took her own life used online platforms to rate the appearance of their classmates.
Accounts on the video-sharing platform TikTok were used by students at Shalom Catholic College in Bundaberg, Queensland, to “grade” the appearance of teenage girls, who have since been branded “toxic” by the school’s principal.
Christie Jacobson discovered her 14-year-old daughter, Isla Marschke, unconscious in the backyard of her Bundaberg South home last Tuesday night and was unable to revive her.
The heartbroken mother revealed that Isla had suffered mental health issues, family dynamic issues and bullying.
In the wake of Isla’s tragic death, a series of online campaigns have been uncovered that rate and rank the school’s female students.
Local media discovered a series of similar TikTok accounts featuring the “best” girls in school and allegedly posted nine now-deleted videos, beneath which people commented on the “most attractive” students.
Another account also appeared to repost videos of students with assessments superimposed on the screen, including ‘Girl of the Year 10’, ‘Sexiest Year 10’ and ‘Shalom the Prettiest Year 7’.
Shalom Catholic College principal Dan McMahon told Daily Mail Australia on Monday that while the removal of online content by peers had been problematic in the past, pages like those discovered were not linked to Isla’s bullying.
Christine Jacobson (left) tragically lost her daughter Isla (right) last week.
Shalom College principal echoes fears over effects of online ‘grading pages’ on students and fights uphill battle to remove them
“As far as I know, there is no such link,” Mr. McMahon said.
However, he admitted that there are groups like the ones highlighted.
“When we become aware of it, we try to act as quickly as possible and ask students, if we can identify them, to remove them,” he said.
‘Unfortunately, sites like this operate ‘underground’. They are easily created and can be renamed quickly. They are toxic and can cause untold damage.’
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest such pages were a factor in Isla’s death.
Several other accounts invited Shalom students to “guess who” other students were, giving them a selection of clues including hair color, height, and popularity.
Some of these videos may feature and attract comments about students that could be considered degrading.
Shalom principal Dan McMahon said the internet can cause enormous harm, with social media posing a “toxic” threat to students and their abilities in school.
Shalom College in Bundaberg has struggled with online ‘grades’ pages in the past and the principal has called for social media reforms.
Some students referred to appearing in the accounts as “measuring up.”
Friends on one of Isla’s social media accounts were quick to pay tribute to the 14-year-old.
“I’m sorry I didn’t do more to keep you here,” one wrote.
Another added: “‘You didn’t deserve any of this. Rest easy beautiful,’ another wrote.
Shortly before Isla died, a girl posted a series of photos with the caption “Don’t be the reason someone hates her looks.”
Since Isla’s death, he wrote a tribute telling his friends that it is never “weak to speak,” obtained by the courier mail.
Isla’s social media pages also feature dated comments on her uploads, sharing support and love from her friends.
McMahon said he would continue to work with students and parents to minimize the potential threat from social media.
‘The Internet can be a force for good, but it can also cause enormous harm. ‘Schools are often asked to monitor students’ internet use when, most of the time, these sites are created, young people are in the care of their parents,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We will continue to work hard on this and will respond whenever we learn of any damage caused. I would love for more parents to closely monitor their children’s online behavior, and I know that’s not easy.’
The principal added that he had submitted content removal requests for similar accounts, but if the content was not reported to the school, it was difficult to find.
McMahon supports the government’s attempts to restrict young people’s use of social media and supports age restrictions on social platforms.
‘Isla’s death was a terrible tragedy. She was a beautiful girl who made a terrible decision. “That decision cannot be attributed to anything in particular, neither to an individual nor to a social media post,” he said.
Ms. Jacobson sought “months and months” for mental health services to help her daughter.
Isla’s mother previously told Daily Mail Australia that her daughter faced an uphill battle to receive adequate mental health treatment in regional Queensland.
“I live in a regional city and I spent months and months desperately trying to find a child psychologist who could help my daughter,” Ms Jacobsen said.
‘But I was constantly rejected because she was too young or because her books were full. Follow-up care was almost impossible. I can’t tell you how many times I would ask for help and be told ‘no, no, no.’
“While this was going on, she was also being bullied and experiencing family dynamic issues.”
Isla had recently abandoned traditional learning at Shalom College, a Catholic school in Bundaberg, to pursue distance education, partly due to bullying and finding it difficult to fit in.
Last week, McMahon told another publication that Isla “without a doubt” experienced bullying at school.
“A couple of people I know aren’t students at this school.”
This echoes comments made by Isla’s sister, Ava, who told this publication that she had been a victim of bullying and had dropped out of traditional school in July to begin distance learning because she was having difficulty fitting in.
“I had been struggling for quite some time,” Ava added.
Mr McMahon said “children sadly have to deal with some cases of bullying” and teachers at Shalom College worked hard to deal with it when it arose, but some occurred “secretly”.
“Isla’s story is tragic, but it’s not just about harassment,” he added.
‘As his mother Christie pointed out in the media, mental illness is a very real problem and the lack of sufficient support services for individuals and families is a real problem.
‘I was in pain due to multiple and complex problems, as many people do.
‘Trying to blame an individual or individuals may give some satisfaction, but it is neither helpful nor accurate.
“I would much rather put energy into helping young people have the courage to ask for help when they need it and have that help available.”
If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline: 13 11 14, Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636 or Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800.
