Bullying is defined
as unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involve a real
or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to
be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats,
spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding
someone from a group on purpose.
Bullying is a major problem across the United States
Recently Oregon South Salem
High School
The end result of this was the bully being confronted on a
local television station and actually apologizing for his actions.
Luckily, Halsey’s aunt witnessed this incident or it could
have been much worse.
School bullying
statistics in the United States
show that about one in four kids in the U.S.
Social media outlets such as Facebook Posts, Twitter Hashtags,
Blogging, You Tube Videos, Instagram, etc. can be used to spread the word on
any topic. This shows how support is
gained over certain subjects. The
networking capabilities are endless.
Simple steps can help save lives.
By showing support and lending a helping hand can make the biggest
difference in someone’s life that is being bullied.
Another form of bullying is “cyber bullying”. Cyber bullying is defined as a young person
tormenting, threatening, harassing, or embarrassing another person using the
Internet or other technologies, like cell phones, iPads, iPods, and many more.
Real life bullying and cyber bullying basically have the
same psychological and emotional outcomes.
The main difference is that real life bullying often ends when the child
goes home from school, however, cyber bullying can happen at any time. Statistics show that 43% of kids have been
bullied online with nearly 70% of students report seeing bullying online. Social media can be an outlet to promote
bullying issues but it can also be used as a double edged sword and actually be
used to bully and hurt someone.
When using social media, I guess we take the good with the
bad. All we can do is our best to step
up and help those in need and as many have said awareness is key. If adults respond quickly to bullying they
send a message that it is not acceptable at all. Some steps that we as adults can take to help
stop the bullying problems are as follows:
1) Intervene immediately. It is ok to get
another adult to help. 2) Separate the
kids involved. 3) Make sure everyone is
safe. 4) Meet any immediate medical or
mental health needs. 5) Stay calm.
Reassure the kids involved, including bystanders. 6) Model respectful behavior when you
intervene.
Use social media to promote and
educate others on bullying issues. The
least message sent could make the biggest difference in someone’s life.
The internet has given kids a whole new tool to use for bullying other kids. I agree with your post, it starts with the parents. If the parents are proactive and know what their children are up to online, it will go a long way in stopping the bullying.
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