What is bullying ?
Bullying is when a person or group tries to hurt or control another person. There are lots of
different kinds of bullying, and they all hurt.
Sometimes bullying means hitting, kicking, pushing, shoving, or making someone do something
they don’t want to do. Sometimes bullying is using mean words or threats, calling someone names,
or saying bad things behind their back. Bullying can even mean making someone feel unsafe or
scared, leaving them out of games, or making them feel that they’re not important. Bullying can be
verbal, physical, social (ignoring or leaving someone out on purpose), and also involve
cyberbullying (being bullied through the Internet. See www.cyberbullying.ca for more information
about this).
A lot of young people have a good idea of what bullying is because they see it every day! Bullying happens when someone hurts or scares another person on purpose and the person being bullied has a hard time defending himself or herself. Usually, bullying happens over and over.
Punching, shoving, and other acts that hurt people physically. Spreading bad rumors about people. Keeping certain people out of a "group". Teasing people in a mean way. Getting certain people to "gang up" on others. Bullying also can happen online or electronically. Cyberbullying is when children or teens bully each other using the Internet, mobile phones or other cyber technology. This can include: Sending mean text, email, or instant messages, posting nasty pictures or messages about others in blogs or on Web sites, using someone else's user name to spread rumors or lies about someone...
What can you do if someone is bullying you?
Tell someone you trust. It’s not easy to solve the problem on your own.
Stay away from the bully as much as you can.
If a bully tries to hurt you, stand up for yourself, but try not to fight. Walk away or yell to
get help.
What should you do if you are bullying others?
Hurting other people doesn’t make you important, it just makes you mean. Think about
ways you can be a leader without hurting like getting involved in sports, school groups and
community activities. If you need advice, talk to someone you trust.
People who bully often end up in gangs, or having other serious problems. There’s nothing
good about being a bully.
What should you do if you see bullying happen?
Go to the person who is being bullied and lead them away, without looking at the bully.
Don’t make the bully feel important by paying attention to them. When you ignore bullies,
you take away their power.
Bullies like to look tough in front of others, so they almost always have an audience when
they are being mean
Most of the time the bullying will end if someone like you steps in to stop it.
Effects Of Bullying
If you've ever heard an adult - or anyone else - say that bullying is "just a fact of life" or "no big deal," you're not alone! Too often, people just don't take bullying seriously - or until the sad and sometimes scary stories are revealed.
It happens a lot more than some people think. Studies show that between 15-25% of U.S. students are bullied with some frequency, while 15-20% report they bully others with some frequency (Melton et al, 1988; Nansel et al, 2001).
It can mess up a kid's future. Young people who bully are more likely than those who don't bully to skip school and drop out of school. They are also more likely to smoke, drink alcohol and get into fights (Nansel et al, 2003; Olweus, 1993).
It scares some people so much that they skip school. As many as 160,000 students may stay home on any given day because they're afraid of being bullied (Pollack, 1998).
Unfortunately, not everyone takes bullying seriously, including adults. Why Do Kids Bully?
There are all kinds of reasons why young people bully others, either occasionally or often. Do any of these sound familiar to you?
Because I see others doing it
Because it's what you do if you want to hang out with the right crowd
Because it makes me feel, stronger, smarter, or better than the person I'm bullying
Because it's one of the best ways to keep others from bullying me
Whatever the reason, bullying is something we all need to think about. Whether we've done it ourselves ... or whether friends or other people we know are doing it ... we all need to recognize that bullying has a terrible effect on the lives of young people. It may not be happening to you today, but it could tomorrow. Working together, we can make the lives of young people better.
