Bullying a Pandemic that Needs to End

by Adam, Usman, Zain 
TMO Young Writers

Bullying is an act that can happen anytime, anywhere and to anyone but a lot of it happens in the hour’s students spend in school.  These acts can tear someone down as it could make someone feel bad about themselves because of race, wealth, his/her actions, likes and dislikes, e.t.c. Bullying has been happening around the world for many years and it does not seem to be getting better.

In fact, the 2017 School Crime Supplement states that 20% of students between ages 12 and 18 have experienced bullying. And for the other side of things, around 30% of people have admitted to bullying others in recent surveys and 70.6% of students have witnessed bullying in their schools.

There are many different types of ways victims would get offended with the first and most common and noticeable being verbal bullying. This can include name-calling, which is the most used of them all, exposing the victim because of race, wealth, behaviors, disabilities, etc. The second and most noticeable way people put shame on others is physical bullying. This can include basic physical actions such as shoving, kicking punching or even slapping someone in uncomfortable areas of the body. On these types of occasions, the bully is trying to physically hurt the victim with all of his/her anger. Physical bullying can also go in line with the next kind of bullying, which is sexual harassment.

This can either be physical, verbal or electronically and can make the victim feel very uncomfortable. Another way someone can get bullied is cyberbullying. This kind of bullying is done from either social media, texts, blogs, e.t.c. The final way someone can get exposed is through social bullying. Social bullying is spreading rumors about someone whether it’s real, or fake. This can really ruin someone’s reputation and the way people view that person.

Because schools are a place where bullying happens, it’s obvious that teachers and administrators will do whatever it takes to prevent this from happening.  One goal for staff members in schools is to make it a safe and comfortable environment for their students. Well, bullying often helps prevent that from happening with students and could often lead to them either having less desire to go to that specific school or even want to transfer schools.

They often try to tell students to inform a staff member whenever they get offended. But they normally do not get notified as only 20-30% of students actually inform adults whenever they get bullied. This is because the victim often wants to prove that they can handle these kinds of situations without needing the help of a staff member. Victims can also get even more criticism whenever they are caught telling a teacher about what has happened as they can be viewed as ‘weak’ or ‘a snitch’ to his/her peers. But they continue to try their best to prevent bullying from happening not just on school grounds, but outside of school as well.

Although, this is an act that keeps on happening, there are still ways you can help prevent bullying from happening or at least making the victim not feel so bad about themselves. If you catch someone getting bullied, standing up for the victim is always a good move and comfort the victim knowing that he/she has someone who can help them in tough situations. Try to convince the victim to stand up for his/her-self and not let the bully bring them down. A bully’s goal is to make the victim feel weak inside so they can continue to attack that person. In a recent interview, students have expressed bullying as unwanted aggression towards you.

It’s always best to close the situation as soon as possible since every time bullying occurs, the bully gains confidence while the victim loses it. Some students have also stated that they wanted more anti-bullying campaigns to demonstrate that bullying is not tolerable and to motivate students to not be a bully or a bystander and do something about these kinds of situations. You should never be afraid to notify an adult about the situation as they can help end the situation immediately and plan a consequence for the bully. But at the end of the day, bullying, unfortunately, will continue happening no matter how much effort is put into preventing this act.