Bullying In The United States

Bullying according to the American Psychological Association is a form of aggressive behavior in which someone intentionally and repeatedly causes another person injury or discomfort either physically, emotionally, or both. Bullying can take the form of physical contact, spoken words or by more subtle actions such as leaving someone out of a group activity or mocking them. This has become a big problem in our schools and even in the workplace. When you hear of bullying you might think of a kid picking on another kid for being smaller but it can actually take place with the use of cell phones and by using the vast variety of social media and even takes place among adults. Anything that will make someone feel humiliated or embarrassed can be

a form of bullying.
Bullying does not discriminate. It targets about the same for both males as it does for females. Nobullying.com states that bullied victims are 7% to 9% more likely to consider suicide according to a study by Yale University. According to the Suicide Awareness Voices for Education suicide among 15-24 years old is the third leading cause of death for youth. Over 16% of students seriously consider suicide, 13% create a plan, and 8% have made a serious attempt. Many of today’s young people who are bullied start to have overwhelming feelings of worthlessness and despair which can lead to depression, sleep difficulties, anxiety or panic attacks and even physical problems such as headaches or an upset stomach. These emotional and physical consequences to being bullied are why many individuals will either attempt or commit suicide at some point in their life.
Bullying has been a problem for many years; I remember when I was in school seeing kids bully other kids.

I did not get involved with this. When I was in school bullying was not such a big deal most people stood up to the bully or just dealt with it. Bullying has become a bigger problem in recent years. Social media, cell phones, and other advancements in technology have increased the effects of bullying. In the past if a child was bullied at school they could escape the torment at home, over the weekend, or on summer breaks. However, with the use of social media and cell phones bullies are able to use what is called Cyber Bullying. People can send taunting text messages directly to a cell phone or post hateful messages on social media about people. With younger and younger children being exposed to cyber communication they do not know how to deal with this or ask for help like most adults would. Dosomething.org is a website dedicating to helping individuals deal with cyber bullying. "About 58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out of 10 say it has happened more than once". These numbers show that over half of kids have experienced cyber bullying at some

point.
Bullying is not really considered to be a serious crime by most people.

When it comes to the fact that it changes someone’s personality or if the person does not want to go to school anymore because of it then it’s a problem. I think that this needs to be handled right away, I do not believe that all schools take this as serious as it is. Teachers are given guidelines on how to deal with, report and stop bullying. But many kids today still get bullied in places that teachers are not, for instance when kids ride the bus to and from school. Walking home from the bus or school where there is usually not an adult or authority figure

around.
So why do people bully each other? Bullies have either been bullied by someone else, have been mistreated at home, or are unhappy with themselves. Bullying can also come from undiagnosed or diagnosed learning disability that can inhibit a child’s way of learning to deal with social and problem solving skills stated by empoweringparents.com. This causes them to lash out at others so that they can inflict the pain that they feel on to other people. When a bully brings someone else down this makes them feel powerful and that they are in control. People who bully need just as much help as the people who are being bullied. Bringing awareness to the subject is a great way to spread the word and to help both bullies and victims of bullying. October has been given National Bullying Prevention Month by Pacer.org, this is to help encourage communities to work together to stop bullying and cyberbullying by increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of bullying on all children of all ages. Many children and young adults are becoming more aware of how bullying can affect others and have begun to take action for themselves and others that are getting bullied.
There are a few ways to stopping bullies, the bully needs to be educated on what effects they are creating. Imposing harsher punishment for bullies, punishing the bully might make them think twice about hurting someone else because it will ultimately affect them. We have to protect the victim. Victims also need to know that they have self-worth and they don’t have to accept what is going on. Victims should also fell comfortable enough to go to someone who will listen to what is going on with them and take them seriously.
In the end there is no winner when it comes to bullying, I don’t believe there is a single solution to completely eliminate this problem. We all need to be more aware that there is some form of bullying going in our lives and not be a bully, a helpless bystander, or even a victim. I think we need to be more aware of what is going on in our children’s social lives what they are doing on the computer or cell phone, have stricter punishments for bullies and get the right help a victim needs to overcome being bullied. There are many tools out here to help eliminate this problem we just have to take the step in the right direction to get this problem handled. Many organizations have been developed for stopping bullying, and to get involved in one near you is a good place to start.