We have all heard the phrase “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me” on the playground or school bus ride home. The phrase was normally thrown out to bullies during a fight in the schoolyard, pushes in the hall, food thrown in the cafeteria, or during the endless teasing and taunting on bus rides to/from school.
According to a national survey conducted by the National Center for Education Services, U.S. Department of Education in 2002, 32% of students in grades 6-12 reported being bullied. Only 9% reported injuries or needing medical attention.
Fast forward to 2011 when these same victims of traditional bullying are now college-aged. After suffering the detrimental effects of their traditional bullying experiences, these same individuals now face a new form of bullying with the help of technology: cyber bullying. With the help of high-tech methods of communication, bullies are targeting their victims in non-traditional forms; not with a push or punch thrown, but with words.
Words, after all, do have meaning. “If they didn't, there would be no such thing as understandable communication. If words did not matter, why would anyone write a poem, a book, an article, or song lyrics? Why would we try to talk to each other, if words did not matter? Why do advertisers go to such pains to develop the right phrases in order to sell their products, or songwriters and authors spend time rewriting and rewriting until they get their ideas expressed in just the right way? Words are what we use to convey deeply held feelings, beliefs, and ideas.” (Whittemore, 2009)
Words can cut like a knife through our souls and leave scars for a lifetime. Who has not been hurt by a loved one who spouted off in a fi...
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15. "Bullying Statistics / Cyber Bullying Statistics / School Bullying Statistics." How to Stop Bullying: Stop the Harassment before It Causes Permanent Damage. 2009. Web. 4 Nov. 2010. http://www.how-to-stop-bullying.com/bullyingstatistics.html
16. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (April 24, 2001)/ Survey finds bullying widespread in U.S. schools.
17. National Association of Attorneys General. (2000). Bruised Inside: What Our Children Say About Youth Violence, What Caused It, and What We Should Do About It.
18. Whittemore, Becky. Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones (But Words Can Do Even More Damage. Associated Content. 17, March 2009. 15 February 2011. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1571788/sticks_and_stones_may_break_my_bones.html?cat=41
Bullying has become a major problem facing the United States today. The American Psychological Association reports that roughly 40% to 80% of children are involved in bullying on some level during their time in school. (APA, 2014) The magnitude of the problem can be observed in the statistics. In the United States, a total of 4,080,879 children between the ages of five and 18 have been the victims of bullying compared to 3,892,199 who have reported that they have engaged in bullying someone else. Additionally, 851,755 said that they have been both the victim and the bully. That's a whopping 8,824,833 people in the United States that have been involved in bullying behavior on one level or another. (High, B., 2000 Census)
National Resource Center for Safe Schools. (2001). New study reveals prevalence, harm of bullying. The Safety Zone, 3(1), 1-2. Retrieved August 15, 2010, from http://www.safetyzone.org/publications/zone8_story1.html
With this unfortunate circumstance, schools need to put a stop to bullying. Informing the school and the community on the issue of bullying is the first step in ending it. To continue, the next is to make rules that will prevent kids from wanting to bully other students. Also, creating an anti-bully committee and a bullying report office in schools will help reduce bullying. With cyber bullying being so difficult to detect, we inform parents and students about safe internet use and ask parents to monitor their child internet usage. Bullying is
Although bullying itself can be violent behavior, often times violence is an actual after effect of the harm done by the bullying. Because of the depression or low self esteem after a bullying incident, both bullies and victims sometimes feel the need to lash out violently in order to handle the situation at hand. Although this is not necessary, in some minds this is the only way to handle a situation. These violent lashes can often lead to more serious violence and even illegal activity that could end in criminal charges. One clear cut way to avoid some of these major violence issues is to know how to handle the
Garrett, Anne G. Bullying in American Schools: Causes, Preventions, Interventions. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2003.
Srabstein, Jorge C., and Bennett L. Leventhal. "Prevention of bullying-related morbidity and mortality: a call for public health policies." Bulletin of the World Health Organization. June 2010: 403. Global Issues In Context. Web. 24 Oct. 2011.
At first glance, this new social order might seem ideal, kids won’t come home with black eyes and parents will get to save that steak for later on, but what most people don’t realize is that though physical blows may hurt for a while, the pain caused by mental blows usually hurt much longer and cut much deeper, a fact most adolescents fail to realize in the seconds before posting a negative comment about a fellow classmate, friend, or even sibling.
Research findings contradict the idea that bullying is a “spreading plague” or on the rise each year (Cloud, 2012). According to the U.S. Department of Justice, “37 percent of students” reported that they
When one is questioned if they think someone they know that is or has been bullied the answer is easy. There has been no shortage of cases of bullying in schools all across America. The use of superior strength or influence to intimidate and typically to force someone to do what one wants has become an epidemic. It is causing fear in schools with nowhere to get support. Bullying can happen to anyone: tall or small, male or female, and the stronger or weak. It can affect sleep pattern, work ethic, depression, and stress. Bullying in schools has become an increasing problem however; it can be reduced by laying in place parental awareness programs, teachers working with students, and policies and rules known by all student and staff.
Bullying has been a part of schooling for as long as children have been congregating. To some it seems like a natural, though uncomfortable, part of life and school experience, while to others it can mean terrifying experiences which spoiled and characterized otherwise happy years in school. Dan Olweus, a pioneer in bully behavior research documented that 2.7 million children are affected as victims, and that 2.1 children act as bullies (Fried, 1997, as cited in Aluedse, 2006). With bullying cited as the reason for violent, gun-related crime in the past few years, school districts as well as national governments have put anti-bullying policies in place. Bullying is a complicated phenomenon, involving more than one child demanding lunch money from a smaller child. It is a worldwide epidemic hitting schools everywhere. Virtually everyone has seen or experienced bullying. With technological advances, bullying is even hitting the internet. Parents, teachers, students and governments agencies alike are attempting to put a stop to bullying practices.
Bullying within an elementary school begins right from the very first day of school. By the end of Kindergarten, over 20% of students report being bullied within that year. By the end of elementary school, 9 out of 10 students report being bullied at one time or another. The students, who bully during elementary school, are more likely to have it carry on with them for their middle school and school years. The aggressive and violent behaviors towards students in elementary school not only carry on after graduation from high school, but they end up having criminal records.
In a CNN study by Chuck Hadad he states “That bullying is pervasive even though the schools have anti-bullying programs from kindergarten through 12th grade, assemblies throughout the year, and a peer-to-peer program where older students talk to younger students about the dangers of bullying” (Hadad). Robert Faris, a sociologist found that bullies and victims are generally the same person. Whe...
Zande, Irene Van Der. "Bullying Facts and Solutions: Upsetting Statistics and 4 Actions You Can Take." Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International. N.p., 16 June 2016. Web. 16 June
Holladay, J. (2011). Cyberbullying. Education Digest, 76, 4-9. Retrieved April 15, 2014, from the MasterFILE Premier database.
Nowadays bullying has gone much farther than just physical violence. Most teens today have either been cyber bullied or have been witnesses to it. Cyber bullying is a form of bullying that is done over electronic messaging or over social media. This is very new to many people of the older generation, but is very relevant to the new generation. Cyber bullying is becoming an increasingly big problem in the U.S. every year. Being a kid who has grown up with technology and social media I have witnessed cyber bullying many times in my life. I have had many friends that have fell victim to cyber bullying and this is why I chose to talk about this topic. Since this topic of bullying is overlooked in our society as not being an issue I decided to choose