Lillianne Nelson
Mrs. Redenius
1st Hour
8-25-14
Greatest Problem Paper
Bullying is a huge issue in American schools, ranging from verbal and/ or physical abuse, to cyber bullying. Nearly 77% of American children who attend public school admit to have been bullied at least one point in the school career. Many also admit to being bullied in more than one form (bullyingstatistics.org). Bullying is common in children and teens grades six to ten. This abuse can come from anyone: a peer in a school or sport setting, a sibling, and even a parent. There are many types of bullying in the American school system and these types of bullying can affect someone dramatically in the long run.
When you think of bullying what comes to your mind? Some short scrawny kid with nerdy glasses and the big ugly kid taking his lunch money? According to a survey taken in period one, these were the things many people thought of when they heard the work "bullying": Punching(four), fat kids, crying(two), tripping(seven), teasing, “Yo Mama” jokes, mental abuse(three), harassment(two), being mean, pushing someone down(four), slapping books to floor, and kids with glasses. Many of the words these students thought of turned to be the abusive and verbal type of bullying. There are a few though that they did not name. The first being social or relational bullying. This is when someone may try to destroy a relationship you have, destroying a reputation, stealing friends or girl/boyfriends, and the most popular gossiping about someone (Facts About Bullying). Another major type of bullying that has become a popular way to bully another person is called cyber bullying.
Many people say that cyber bullying is one of the most popular and easiest ways to bully another. What is cyber bullying one may ask? The exact definition of Cyber bullying is; the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. The thought of cyber bullying being easier comes from the fact that the bully is able to hide behind the anonymity of the internet (Cyber bullying Laws). Majority of the kids in the U.S have a cell phone or access to the internet. Another survey taken from first hour shows that all students in that specific period have an accessible way to be on a social media website. With the vast social media websites or apps out there it can be very fast and easy for someone to post something another may not want shown. Many of the websites or apps include: Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Vine, Instagram, Whisper, IFunny, Snapchat, Pintrest, Myspace and many more. What makes Cyber Bullying different than being bullied in a face-to-face setting? Here are a few reasons of why that come from stopbullying.gov: Cyber bullying can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and even reach someone when he or she is alone day or night, Also cyber bullying messages and images can be posted anonymously and distributed quickly to a vast audience, due to that it can be difficult and sometimes impossible to trace the source, lastly deleting inappropriate or harassing messages, texts, and pictures from the internet or messaging is extremely difficult after they have been posted or sent. Bullies may see social media of a way to embarrass or harass someone much easier due to it having a larger amount of audience and being able to instantly upload and see. The internet although is a hard place to permanently erase things from so bullies could not always find an easy way to get out of what they did.
Bullying can be a horrible thing to through for anyone of any age. Many people may see it as something that all students go through, but could it leave long turn affects? According to bullyingstatistics.org being bulled can lead to depression, anxiety, violence and low self esteem. Not only is it the victims that suffer from these illnesses, but also the source. In some people their depression can be linked back to