Bullying: Cause and Effect | Teen Ink

Bullying: Cause and Effect

October 30, 2015
By Anonymous

You may ask how big of a problem teen bullying is in the United States. First, Some people think the problem is not severe enough to take initiative. Second, bullies tend to pick on people based on only their cover. In my opinion peer victimization is not a huge problem unless the supervisors don’t have a way of preventing the issue. I have noticed bullying is more prone to happen in bigger schools because there aren’t enough teachers to be standing around influencing the children to not bully others. Because of the lack of supervision bullies find an easy target and either call them names, tease, push, shove, and taunt the victim.

 

If a teen is being picked on adults should try and help them immediately because little things wiggle their way into the victim’s brain and stick there like super glue.  If the problem is not addressed properly serious incidents can lead to the victim committing suicide. These incidents show how effective an anti-bullying system could have helped stop the bullying from even going as far as making the victim want to kill themselves. Studies have shown when schools start an effective anti-bullying program the amount of students being bullied went down 63% (Morgan 177). Morgan’s evidence proves when an effective program is put in play the bullying is under more control, thus resulting in significantly less suicides. Although, when a bullying program is not set up correctly the system can backfire and lead to more bullying. Bullying is also likely to get worse if when a student is bullied the supervisor doesn’t handle it correctly, or not all of the staff in the school are using the program correctly. An effective bullying program should include, rules relating to bullying and make sure they are strictly enforced and clear to the students, the students should also have someone who they are comfortable talking to. Authority figures should emphasize their power while still giving the students respect, the parents should also be informed if the teacher sees their child being bullied or their child is bullying another child in any way (Morgan 177).
Believe it or not different people are bullied in different ways. In the bully's eyes some students are easier targets than others for example smaller students appear to be easier to hurt, emotionally or physically than bigger students. Gays and lesbians are also targeted by bullies. Targets who become victims can be beat up with words and hits, to the bully words seem to be more effective to the victim's emotional state, which results in the victim being more afraid of the bully. When students are focused on being scared of what the bully might do next they tend to stop paying as much attention in class leading to significantly lower test scores. As I said earlier different bullies use different strategies. With the different types of bullying comes different reactions to the bullying. It is shown after males are bullied they are more likely to start drinking alcohol to relieve the pain the bully had caused. Females on the other hand are more likely to start acting more aggressively and emotional  to her peers (Conoley 218).


Bullying certainly is a problem if it is not handled with care. Bullying can be contained in most cases, but in all cases it can be stopped even before the problem arrises. In my opinion bullying is an issue more schools should take the time to help prevent the problem by creating a helpful program to help work against bullying, by using a program all schools will eliminate the bullying problem by 63%. So do your part and use an effective program at your school.

 

Works Cited
Conoley, Jane Close. "Sticks And Stones Can Break My Bones And Words Can Really Hurt Me." School Psychology Review 37.2 (2008): 217-220. Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.

Morgan, Hani. "What Teachers And Schools Can Do To Control The Growing Problem Of School Bullying." Clearing House 85.5 (2012): 174-178. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.


The author's comments:

I was inspired to write this essay because I was recently involved in a bulllying incident. I thought that my school was over-reacting about the problem, but after I did some research I realized that bullying can lead to terrible things. 


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This article has 1 comment.


mplo said...
on Dec. 4 2015 at 10:06 am
This is another very good article, but bullying is a huge, huge problem, and it occurs everywhere, in both big and small schools alike. At least as often as not, kids who bully as children and teenagers often become adults who bully, as well. Anti-bullying programs, unfortunately, do not always work, especially because teachers and other people in authority in the school(s) are often too fatigued, too busy, or too pre-occupied with other stuff to say, much less do anything about bullying, which compounds the problem a great deal. Also, since bullying can and does occur off the school campuses, as well as before or after, or on the way to or from school, there's not always a person around who can help. Perhaps if schools would offer self-defense courses to at least enable kids who are the victims of bullying to develop more self-confidence so that they'll hopefully not be such a target for bullies. Imho, an affective anti-bullying program would also include something like that, but that's how I see it. Also, bullying doesn't necessarily have to be overt and physical. It can be psychological and emotional, as well, taking the form of shunning, deliberate exclusion, taunting, and doing nasty little things that the victim isn't aware of until it's way too late. Friends who don't stick up for friends who are being bullied are also accessories.