The Cause Of Bullying In The United States

The Causes of Bullying Throughout the United States education system, bullying has always been an issue that affects many people. Overall, 77% of US children have admitted to being bullied (“Bullying Statistics”). Of these numbers, why are these kids being victimized by the bullies? What exactly motivates bullies to commit to harassing innocent children? The eventual result of bullying can be caused by the home environment, rewarded behavior, and lack of empathy. First, bullying can happen due to an unstable family life. Families that are not as caring and loving as others often result in children who are bullies (“Why do People Bully?”). In other words, families who do not openly share their feelings and emotions between each other often

These rewards come in many different forms. For example, bullies can gain physical belongings, like lunch money, or earn feelings of power, popularity, or any type of attention (“What are the Causes of Bullying?”). Although this attention may not be deliberate, it does give the bully a reason to keep picking on other people. Clearly, if a bully did not receive any kind of positive reinforcement for pushing others around, then they would not bully anymore. Moreover, these rewards are replacing the bully’s feelings of abandonment and neglect, especially from their homes. Since bullies are typically categorized as ones who are not so popular or outgoing, they must exert their dominance to make themselves feel more important, or to provide them with physical objects to make their lives more enjoyable. Another situation in which awarded actions come into play is when someone is given power, but they do not know how to handle it, so bullying is the effect (“Why do People Bully?”). Many kids that are unaware of their ability to control power eventually use that power for bad reasons. This means that children are taking advantage of power that is given to them to use it for harassment and bullying, simply because they cannot understand the concept of composure. Without a doubt, this point directly ties into the idea of how a lack of empathy also causes