Persuasive Essay Bullying

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me!” Sometimes hurtful words or actions are construed as kids play; however, bullying is becoming a crisis in this country. According to Christina Salmivalli from the Department of Psychology, FI-20014 University of Turku, Finland in her article “Bullying and the peer group: A review”, “Bullying is a form of aggressive behavior that can be associated with an individual or a group,” and it can lead to psychosocial and academic problems for the victim and the bully as well as to peers who are witness the bullying event (Salmivalli). Studies have been conducted for years to determine the underlying causes and effects of bullying in society. We as adults need to take a stand to

Physical conditions such as being overweight, medical conditions or just being different than other kids make it more likely kids will be bullied. Statistics show that any kid grossly overweight is 63% more likely to be bullied by their classmates (Nobullying.com).

There are several types of behavior that can be viewed as bullying: name calling, physical assault, social emotional, and cyberbullying to name a few. Bullying can start out with just simple name calling then move to lies and rumors that become hurtful. It can start by pushing someone around and threatening them, like taking their lunch money or threatening harm if they don’t do something they are asked to do. Social emotional bullying occurs when people exclude others to make them feel unwelcome or unloved. The most detrimental form of bullying in current times is cyberbullying where you are not attacked face-to-face but by social media.

With the onslaught of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, cyberbullying has become common. As shown in part on Nobullying.com’s website, in its 2014 Cyberbullying survey, “Ditch the Label” , results are that:

• 7 in 10 young people are victims of