In October 2012, 13-year-old student Erin Gallagher took her own life after receiving numerous harmful comments through the anonymous social media website, Ask.fm. In December 2012, Erin's 15-year-old sister, Shannon Gallagher, committed suicide due to her inability to live without her sister. In the United States alone, many families have experienced the same tragedy as the Gallaghers (Mosbegen). According to cyberbullying statistics from the Megan Meier Foundation, approximately 53 percent of teens have admitted to making mean and hurtful comments to peers via social media. This leads us to believe that there is a much larger percentage of teenagers who have committed cyberbullying but refuse to admit it. Additionally, one in three mentioned participating in cyberbullying more than once (Bullying, Cyberbullying and Suicide Statistics). The increase in suicides among teenagers in recent years is related to the new trend of ephemeral or anonymous social media. THE MOVE TO EPHERMAL AND ANONYMOUS SOCIAL MEDIAPhysical social media, a term coined by Washington Post writer Cecilia Kang, means that the content lasts for short periods of time or has no association with the user; Popular social mediums such as snapshot-centric Snapchat and the anonymous communication website Ask.fm exemplify the idea of ​​the ephemeral app. Why have teenagers made the transition from the slowly declining social media giant Facebook, Twitter and other profile-based social media? As Erik Qualman, an expert on digital media and future trends, said, "What happens in Las Vegas stays on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. But teens are realizing that it doesn't have to stay on Snapchat" (Kerp.... .. center of paper .......Kang, Cecilia. "Seeking Privacy, Teens Turn to Anonymous Messaging Apps." Washington Post, February 16, 2014. Web March 5, 2014. "Where social media is going with teens leaving Facebook." Inc.com Mansueto Ventures, November 22, 2013. Web. March 21, 2014. Mosbergen, Dominique "Shannon Gallagher, Teenage Sister of Suicide Victim." Life." Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, December 13, 2012. Web. March 5, 2014. “National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.” Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, nd Web. March 23, 2014. Slonje, Robert, Peter Smith and Ann Frisen. “The Nature of Cyberbullying and Strategies for Prevention.” Computers in Human Behavior 29.1 (2013): 26-32. Web. Terebin, Mark. Interview. Ask.fm. Ask.fm and Web. .