Jessica Schama
Dr. Stenberg
FYS-100
1 May 2015
Bullying
Bullying has become one of the largest on-going growing problems within our society today. Statistics from Family First Aid, about 30 percent of teenagers in the U.S. have been involved in bullying. It has evolved from just the mere average big kid picking on the small kid on the playground. Bullying has long lasting effects that have a great impact on the victim’s life. First, what is bullying? Bullying is unwanted aggressive behavior among school aged children, teenagers, and adults that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. According to a website called Bullying Statistics that is devoted to telling bullying facts, around 77 percent of students have admitted to being bullied in some form. There are many different types of bullying. A few examples of the many different types of bullying are; physical bullying such as hitting, kicking, pushing, or the stealing, hiding, or ruining possessions of their targeted victim. Another example of bullying is verbal such as name calling, teasing, insulting, or threats against the victim. Social bullying is another example this includes gossip, the spreading of rumors or lies, and isolation of the victim. Along with these more common forms of bullying prejudice and sexual bullying have become a major problem as well. Sexual bullying includes sexual name calling, crude comments, vulgar gestures, uninvited touching, sexual propositioning, or the use of pornographic materials. Sexual bullying also falls under the category of sexual harassment and in some extreme cases can lead to sexual assault. Prejudicial bullying includes the mocking of race, religion, and sexual orientation.
Cyberbullying has become a major problem as well during this time and age. Cyberbullying is posting hurtful images, videos, or threats online and also include sending hurtful texts, emails, or instant messages via the internet. A publication in the United Kingdom gives the world a story of a cheerleading team in Hawaii that gets punished for bullying called “Cheerleaders accused of cyber-bullying at Hawaii high school complain that they had been treated unfairly.” It’s good that the school officials decided to do this because if they let it go, no one would have stopped it and someone would have gotten hurt. There are a variety of reasons for which people bully. One reason could be for the bully’s pure enjoyment. Another could be for a reason such factors that separate the bullies and victims such as mental, physical, and even social differences. First, mental differences really affect how much of an outcast a victim is. For example, the victim is taking classes made especially for the slower kids that have a disorder like A.D.D. and the bully uses this as ammunition to target the victim amongst other kids. Another reason a person can be a bully is if these behaviors and tendencies are exhibited in the home. Children learn to imitate actions from a young age, for example, if a child sees a parent hitting and swearing at their spouse the child is going to think it is okay to hit and swear at someone else. Kurtis Kropar, is the person who brings up the idea that no one wakes up one day and yearns to be a bully, it is a learned habit. One other way victims are targeted is by their social skills, if a child is seen to be more social they are less often targeted. However, if a child is seen to be more reserved and socially awkward they are seen to be targeted more often. Size also has an impact on bullying, the bully could be a whole foot taller than a kid they go to school with. The bully will feel a lot more powerful and they easily pick on the victim. They throw the victim around like a rag doll and the victim might not do anything back because of fear. Also, in some cases there is more than one bully at a time. If a bully has others to back him up, the bully feels more than enough power to pick on anyone at any time. Physical differences literally