Bullying- Francisco Santos

 

Bullying

by Francisco Santos

Bullying is a very controversial issue that has been affecting people's lives, especially the youth, in a negative way. Even though bullying is addressed in many places, such as in schools as wrong, and teachers enforcing the no-bullying policy, bullying will still occur unless some actual changes happen. People who conduct bullying should be held accountable for their behaviors, resulting in the hurting of other individuals, both mentally and physically. Bullying is a problem that can occur in many ways, and it can damage many people and should not happen to anyone. People and communities should do a better job of enforcing and addressing this problem to people like children and adults to help create a change.

    Bullying can happen in two ways: the traditional kind of bullying, and now the more recent cyberbullying has come into play. The first type of bullying that affects kids in communities is the traditional kind of bullying, which is when someone tries to harm or intimidate another individual, which can be physical such as hitting them or kicking them, or can be mental such as calling them names and making fun of them. When this happens, according to Taylor (2009), "Bullying can negatively affect concentration, self-esteem and social relationships in school, and promote feelings of isolation and hopelessness, often with long-term consequences that lead into adulthood." Also, we see here how bullying can negatively affect someone not temporarily but often permanently, affecting the long term. People need to see how big a problem bullying is and do a better job of stopping this.

                                                                                    

    The second type of bullying that occurs in many communities is known as cyberbullying. This is when someone intimidates or harms someone through the use of technology. Also, " common forms of cyberbullying include sending threatening text messages, posting libelous or malicious messages on social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook, or uploading unflattering or humiliating pictures or videos to the Internet without permission." (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010). In other words, just because this type of bullying does not occur face to face, it can still negatively affect someone in the long run. Both of these types of bullying should not be allowed and brought to the attention of everyone. It has gotten to the point where children are more likely to commit suicide due to constant bullying. According to Hinduja & Patchin (2010), "Youth who experienced traditional bullying or cyberbullying, as either an offender or a victim, had more suicidal thoughts and were more likely to attempt suicide than those who had not experienced such forms of peer aggression." We see here how individuals start to have suicidal thoughts and attempts of suicide because of the harassment they get. 

                                                                                

My Story

    I chose the major issue of bullying is very important to me, as it affects me in many ways. For example, I'm one of the lucky ones who did not experience bullying, but throughout my years, the problem of bullying has always come across me, and have known many people who have gone through a type of bullying. Also, I have siblings and one day want to have children of my own, and I do not want them to go with the fear of being bullied by someone. Our communities, rather than sticking together many times harass each other, which should not be allowed. Bullying has been a problem for many years now and is still ongoing, and I believe we should do a better job of addressing it if we want any change.

                                                                         

                                                                        

                                                                       References

1)    Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin. “Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Suicide.” Archives of Suicide Research, vol. 14, no. 3, 2010, pp. 206–221., doi:10.1080/13811118.2010.494133.

2)    Patchin, Justin W., and Sameer Hinduja. “Cyberbullying and Self-Esteem*.” Journal of School Health, vol. 80, no. 12, 2010, pp. 614–621., doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2010.00548.x.

3)    Tharp-Taylor, Shannah, et al. “Victimization from Mental and Physical Bullying and Substance Use in Early Adolescence.” Addictive Behaviors, vol. 34, no. 6-7, 2009, pp. 561–567., doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2009.03.012.