Bullying has always been one of the biggest issues that kids face while attending school, but with
the world around us evolving every day so is the way people experience bullying. Once upon a time, you would go to school and get picked on for things like the clothes you wear or how your hair looks but when you went home the problem was over. But now, bullying happens face to face, on the phone and even on social networks. Bullying is not just physical fighting like it's shown in the movies. By definition, a bully is a person who uses strength and authority to intentionally hurt or intimidate someone and young kids aren’t the only ones being bullied either. It also happens in the workplace for some adults. The
worst part is, some people don’t know what to do or how to react when they are bullied or witness bullying. We are going to explain the different types of bullying and give you some tips to help you stop the bullying you see and experience every day.
So what are the different types of bullying?
1. Verbal – Name calling or insulting
2. Physical – hitting or spitting on someone or stealing their belongings
3. Social bullying – embarrassing someone in public, leaving someone out of a group activity intentionally, spreading rumors & telling someone not to befriend another person
4. Cyber Bullying – the use of text messaging, emailing and personal or fake social media pages to start rumors, leave mean comments or post embarrassing pictures of or about
someone.
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are some of the most popular social networks now and a lot of the funny things that are on these pages are at the expense of someone else.
Before you repost or send that funny video to all your friends, think about how you’d feel if someone was making jokes about your hairstyle or the clothes that you had on. Sometimes the videos are funny and the person in the video things its funny as well. But often times people don't know their picture is being taken or a video is being recorded for someone to post online. It may not seem like it, but if that post was taken to make a joke out of someone, that could easily be considered bullying.
Now let us look at who is being bullied?
28% of students grade 6-12 have reportedly experienced some sort of bullying.
70% of students say they have witnessed someone being bullied.
• Bullying can take place in the cafeteria, classroom, hallways and bathrooms
Why does someone get bullied?
1. Bully victims are people who are potentially seen as weak, because of their size or the fact that they are quiet and too afraid to stand up for themselves.
2. People with different religious beliefs, sexual preferences, people with special needs and people of different races are often bullied.
We live in a very diverse world. Everyone has different views, beliefs and live completely different lifestyles. Just because someone is different doesn’t give you the right to treat them
differently and you definitely should not attempt to hurt them in any way. Kids across the country are going to EXTREME measures to stop the bullying. The begin to suffer from depression and fear. Sometimes they go as far as physically hurting themselves or committing suicide. Together we can put an end to bullying.
If you or someone you know is being bullied, SPEAK UP! Tell your parent, your teacher or an adult that you trust. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself. Let the bully know that you are not afraid of them and remember that it will get better. Make sure you keep good friends around you that will have your back as well.
If you are the bully, remember that other people have feelings. You shouldn't want to intentionally hurt someone's feelings or make them feel bad about themselves.