What is Bullying?
Bullying is a pattern of deliberately harming and humiliating others that the aggressor views to be more vulnerable than themselves. Bullying can happen in many different environments, commonly in school or work place settings, and in recent years all around the internet. Some levels of bullying may be mistaken as a harsh joke or sense of humor, but the small acts will continue to build until bullying is dangerous for all people involved. The spread of social media use has increased the spread of cyberbullying among our youth.
Forms of Bullying
Bullying comes in many different forms. It can start with verbal attacks such as making fun of the victim or standard name-calling. Some bullying can extend to being physical, threats of harm, intimidation, and excluding victims from social activities. It can be done anonymously behind a screen and username, and now can come from complete strangers who will never meet you. No matter what is happening in a bullying situation, they should all be taken very seriously, especially when involving children. Acts of bullying tend to build slowly after time as the abuser believes they have more power, and the victim doesn’t know how to stop it. These situations can be damaging for both the person being bullied and the bully themselves, creating habits abuse that will stay in their minds throughout their life.
Why Do People Bully?
There is no one reason that a child begins to bully. In many situations, the biggest bullies are those who experience similar situations at home. Children who grow up being bullied by siblings or parents will often reflect those same situations to children their own age. They’ve grown up in a situation where that is normal and don’t understand or see it as wrong. Bullying also comes from situations where one party feels superior or powerful compared to their victims, there doesn’t have to be any power for the bullying mindset to win.
Why is Bullying Harmful?
Bullying is dangerous for everyone involved, it can have lifelong impacts and seriously affect the future. Small acts of hate can build into more serious events. That’s why it’s so important to educate everyone, especially our children on the steps that can be taken against bullying to help create a better future. To share you message against bullying, contact I-SHOUT-OUT at www.i-shout-out.com.