October is National Bullying Prevention Awareness Month, and it is a great time to educate people on what bullying looks like today and how we as a community can prevent it.
Bullying can take many forms such as physical abuse, emotional abuse through verbal insults or social bullying, which involves socially belittling or excluding a person.
In modern day bullying, all these forms remain but one powerful, yet underestimated form of bullying has been introduced; cyberbullying. This pertains to anyone who is harassed through any social media or any online forum. One of the most toxic online platforms is the very popular Snapchat, where users communicate through instant messaging and pictures.
Cyberbullying seems to be the most prominent of the forms today because bullies are given an endless supply of people to harass, anonymously, at any time. This tends to make bullying more vicious and more likely to persist. Unfortunately, this medium also makes it harder for adults to monitor and stop the bullying.
Teens who are bullied are at a higher risk of anxiety, depression, suicide, substance abuse and a dip in academic performance. For teens who bully others, they are also at a higher risk of anxiety, depression, a dip in academic performance, substance abuse and mental and behavioral problems. Victims of cyberbullying who are in high school are almost two times as likely to attempt suicide.
According to Everlast recovery, the demographic group who experience the most bullying are students in middle school; however, bullying can be present from early childhood all the way into adulthood.
Therapist Lori Harrison gives insight to warning signs of bullying. The bully and the victim often show similar warning signs because there is almost always an underlying issue in the bully as well.
She explains that teens may drastically increase or decrease the amount of time spent on their devices, hide their screens from their parents when they enter a room or their overall demeanor could change.
If you witness bullying and it is safe to do so, speak up and defend the victim because watching without interference can be interpreted as support for the bully. However, if it is not safe to interfere, go speak to a trusted adult about what you witnessed. It can also be helpful to show support to the victim later so that they feel less alone.
If you experience bullying, it is imperative that you speak to a trusted adult about what happened. Not advising an adult could put your life at risk or potentially negatively affect you mentally for the rest of your life. A good online resource to use is stopbullying.gov because it has a list of resources that can help all types of people get the help they need.
To prevent bullying in the future, students who were bystanders should have an open conversation about what happened, and what they feel, as witnessing bullying can also negatively affect them. The bully and the victim should also have open discussion in the presence of a school counselor or a social worker to discuss the issue at hand. Most importantly, there should be consequences if the bullying escalates or persists.
Experts also believe to prevent bullying, guardians should foster an open and supportive family environment that allows teens to feel comfortable talking about their struggles. If the teen does not feel comfortable speaking to their guardian, they should be given the resources to speak to a therapist, a school counselor, a trusted family friend or another trusted professional.
There is also evidence that early childhood education sets a student up for better social, behavioral and academic development in their future. Youth skills training in school-based programs has also been proven to cut down bullying statistics. Establishing bullying outreach programs in your community helps educate everyone and fosters a safer environment.
The most important thing is that the community is educated about the forms of bullying and what to do if you witness it or experience it happening.
Photo by Jay Wennington on Unsplash
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