Bullying is a predominant part of society among teens. Over 30% of US students in grades six through ten are involved in school bullying in one way or another. The bullying statistics among teens are higher than ever. It is shocking to see how mean today’s youth have gotten.
          

Bullying causes serious physical and mental health problems for youth. Bullying victims are more likely to complain of health problems including, common cold, sore throats, poor appetite and not being able to sleep well. By the time bullying victims reach the age of 23 they are shown to have lower self-esteem and are more likely to be depressed than peers who were not bullied in school. “Words may not hurt physically, but they stick in your head and make you believe that what people say is true,” says one student
          

  As well as health issues bullying also causes issues involving school. victims of bullying are more likely to have decreased academic achievement, including low GPA and State Test scores. They are more likely to stay home from school, ditch class, or even drop out of school. Four out of every ten children drop-out of high school each year because of being bullied. This is nearly 10% of the overall high school dropouts.
          

  Aside dropouts bullying increases school-related violence, such as fights and school-shootings. According to the National School Bullying Statistics Survey teens say that revenge is the number one reason for school shootings. Over 87% of teens say that shootings are to, “get back at those who have hurt them.” Bullying has been linked to the cause of 75% of school shootings. Every day at least 100,000 US students carries a gun to school, according to the Bureau of Justice: School Bullying.

In todays society there are four main types of bullying, Verbal, Social Exclusion, Physical, and Cyber Bullying. Verbal Bullying is when one person calls another person names or teases them. Social Exclusion is when a group leaves someone out on purpose, spreads rumors or gossip about someone, or tries to break up friendships. Social Exclusion is what girls commonly resort to when bullying. Physical Bullying is any kind of physical action directed at someone. It can include hitting, punching, shoving, kicking, tripping, and even spitting. Cyber Bullying is bullying by the use of technology, cell phones or internet, to cause others harm. It includes creating fake profiles, posting hurtful or embarrassing information about someone, sending mean or untrue text messages and posting inappropriate or embarrassing pictures or videos.

According to the National School Bullying Statistics Survey 77% of students are bullied verbally, socially or physically. Cyber Bullying is the most common with teens, with 43% of students admitting to being Cyber Bullied in the most recent Cyber Bullying Statistics Survey. of these students 14% have said they have had bad reactions to the abuse. Each day 160,000 students miss school because of a fear of being bullied. When you compare this to the at school bullying statistics it is sadly not shocking. More youth violence and bullying happens on school campus than anywhere else. Every 7 minutes a child is bullied.

One student said “I remember the first time I tried to kill myself. I was overwhelmed by stress, sadness and regret. The only thing I thought of at that moment was " You're such a failure. Just stop trying. Everyone hates you." Everyday someone would say some smart-aleck  comment about me, the way I dressed, the things I liked, or how I looked. I was so flipping tired of life itself. No one thought of what I was going through. They never thought that the girl in the middle of the class cuts herself, or that every night she cries herself to sleep. Honestly I don't think they care.” Knowing that students are feeling like this at our school is a real eye-opener.
Bullying is an epidemic that needs to be stopped. One student puts it this way, “Stop bullying, you can save a life or help the person in need. Don’t sit and watch it when you could help prevent tragedies.”