Two out of every three teens are verbally or physically harassed every year. 160,000 kids skip school, because they are afraid of getting bullied. Although most people think bullying gets addressed when an adult gets involved, adults only get involved 4% of the time. Some adults think bullying is just part of growing up and that “kids will be kids.” However, bullying is not just part of growing up. It can affect someone’s self-esteem. Sometimes bullying can even get dangerous. Some people think face-to-face bullying is worse than cyber bullying, but one is not worse than the other. Any type of attack can make a person believe that they are not good enough. Any type of harassment can decrease a person’s self esteem. The facts show how bad bullying can get and how kids feel during the bullying and after. I want to dispel some myths about bullying, share some facts, and suggest some ways to help stop bullying.


The facts tell you how much bullying is a problem, but often don’t show you what it is. Most people know that there is more than one way of harassment; there is cyber bullying, physical harassment, and verbal attack. In our society, bullying is the most common form of violence. Its often referred to as violence when its physical harassment not just verbal assaults. Victims of bullying are 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than students who are not bullied. Most people believe that bullying doesn’t lead kids or teens to suicide, but in all seriousness it doesn’t mean that they don’t think about it. Most people have thought about it when it comes to this form of harassment. There are so many facts out there about bullying and forms of harassment that at the end of the day these subjects can’t be ignored. It happens no matter how hard you try and ignore it.


Some people think that there are no consequences that punish bullies. 47 states have passed anti-bullying laws that require schools to report it when bullying occurs. But it is proven that there are some laws and policies that exist. Some people believe that bullies have low self-esteem and or have no friends, but that isn’t true most of the time. It is a proven fact that many aggressive bullies are confident and popular, and are just on the look out for attention, more friends, and or power. Although some believe that it isn’t bullying unless it’s physical, there are different forms of bullying such as: cyber bullying, indirect bullying, and verbal abuse. These forms of bullying can crush anybody’s sprit; even with a simple tease about their appearance will count as bullying. I know some people believe that kids don’t take their life into their own hands after being bullied for a while, but it is a proven fact that suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among young people; about 4,400 deaths per year because of bullying. These bullying myths have been proven wrong time and time again. Bullying has a very bad effect on people all over the world.


There are many things that a person can do to help stop bullying. One of the many ways to help stop bullying is to know the terms of bullying. Such as, happy slapping, neutral strategy, and regular exposure. Those are some that most people do no, the others include, target, harassment, and bystander. You can also help by sending letter to the government, to enforce the policies and laws on bullying. There is also days that you can participate in to help acknowledge the subject without having to write letters. Some of these days that you can participate in is, national day of silence, unity day, and pink shirt day. You can also help stop bullying by not just being a bystander, or part of the problem, you can intervene and tell the bully to stop, and or get an adult that you trust to help. I hope that some people will use some of those tips to help end a serious cause all over the world.