The Effects of Bullying

1600 Words4 Pages

The dictionary definition of bullying is, “a person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to smaller or weaker people”("Bullying") . To many, it is more than a definition in a dictionary, it is a lifestyle. Unfortunately, an opposite lifestyle is lived by more than seventy-five percent of students across the country, the life of being bullied. Hundreds and thousands of children dread opening their computer or going to school because they know what awaits them. Cruel comments, physical harm, and humiliation. Bullies are able to use many tactics to push their victims past the breaking point. They will use the victim's social status and deviance, to label them and disconnect them from their in-groups until it seems like they have no one left on their side. Throughout time, bullying has become more convenient for bullies, thanks to social media. One might ask, what does this mean for those being bullied? It means that they cannot escape the abuse, not at school or at home, it follows them everywhere they go, until they are forced to make a choice, live with the abuse forever, commit suicide, or become a bully themselves. Many would say that society, through bullying, plays a large role in the mental and physical scars of many teens.
More than seventy-five percent of students are harassed, bullied, or cyberbullied and experience physical, psychological, and/or emotional abuse. More than twenty percent of students admit to being a bully or participating in bully-like activities. On a daily average, 160,000 children miss school because they fear they will be bullied if they attend classes. On a monthly average 282,000 students are physically attacked by a bully. Bullying victims are more likely to experience suicidal though...

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...fects. Ending the cycle of bullying starts with ourselves. I encourage everyone to watch what they say and do, because it is the little things that can make all the difference when it comes to someone taking their life, or even taking someone else’s life. Remember, words do hurt, whether they are in person or online.

Works Cited
"Bullying." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.
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Kuther, Tara L. "Understanding Bullying." Our Children. Oct. 2003: 12-13. SIRS Issues
Researcher. Web. 01 Dec 2013.
Pearce, Matt. "Officials Cite Cyberbullying in Girl's Death." Los Angeles Times 2013 sep 13:
A.10. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. .
Todd, Deborah M. "Defining Aggressors in the Age of Online Bullying." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
2013 jun 05: A.10. Web. 19 Nov. 2013. .

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