Youth bullying has become out of control across America cases and cases of it are going viral across social networks and the internet. Officials are trying to determine an effective method of punishment so that no more children become victims of this horrible crime. Bullying is repeated oppression by, psychological or physical, of a less powerful person by a more powerful person or group of persons (Rigby, Ken 2007, Bullying in Schools).
Bullying is the use of force to intimidate others. The behavior can be habitual and involve and imbalance of social and or physical power.It can include verbal harassment, threats, and physical assault. Bullying may also be directed repeatedly towards particular people because of race, religion, sexuality, gender or ability. Although these are good reasons that cause bullying, youth bullying is the leading form of bullying in today’s society. Youth bullying has become viral across the United States and other countries.
Youth bullying is a behavior that has also caused children to commit suicide. Children and parents are forced to defend their actions against bullying and they are being punished for defending their rights.It is unfair punishment to penalize a child or parent who rightfully stands up and defends a child or children against bullying because it should be considered a crime (Rigby & Smith, 2011). Facts of Bullying In- School Bullying Approximately one hundred sixty thousand students don’t attend school every day because of the fear of being bullied (U.
S. Department of Justice and the National Association of School Psychologists, 2007). The study of bullying among students has increased rapidly since the early ground breaking research of Olweus in Scandinavia in the early nineteen eighties.By the beginning of the twenty-first century, reports from a wide range of studies in many countries reflected a growing concern about school bullying. Also a wide variety of initiatives were being undertaken to correct the problem.
There have been some variations in the way bullying has been defined. A general consensus has emerged in which it is seen as a form of aggressive behavior in which there is an imbalance of power favoring the perpetrator, who repeatedly seek to hurt or intimidate a targeted individual(Rigby & Smith 2011).In 2009, Indicators of School and Safety collected from a series of studies that included: * One third of teens reported being bullied while at school * Twenty-percent of teens have been made fun of by a bully * Four percent of teens have been reported being the victims of cyber bullying * Forty percent of middle schools reported bullying problems compared to just over twenty percent of both elementary and high schools(National Center for Educational Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Indicators of School and Crime Safety 2009).The bullying statistics from 2009 don’t tell everything, but they do show that bullying is a serious problem for a large number of youth (National Center for Educational Statistics, “Indicators of School Crime and Safety 2009). Cyber Bullying While bullying in school is on the rise, as it is widely believed, investigated drawings upon empirical studies have been taken in a wide range of countries in which these findings have been published describing its prevalence at different points in time between nineteen ninety and two thousand nine.These results do not support the view that reported bullying in general has increased during this period.
A significant decrease in bullying has also been reported in many countries. There are also some indications that cyber bullying has increased as opposed to traditional bullying. The reported decreases in school bullying are consistent with the reports of significant reductions in peer victimization following the implementation of anti-bullying programs in schools around the world (Rigby & Smith, 2011). Behaviors that Triggers a Bully There are so many things that can trigger a bully.For example, aggression research has emphasized the relation between aggression and with delinquent peer influences.
In 1982, the association between social bonds to family and delinquency was mediated by involvement with delinquent peers. During this time, the association between peer influences and bullying behavior had received less attention. We have investigated the relationship between peer influences and bullying behavior and hypothesized that bullying would be positively associated with negative peer influences (Espelage, Bosworth and Simon, 2000).There are several signs to consider when trying to detect early signs of aggressive behavior in early adolescence. Aggression in childhood and adolescence has been the focus of many empirical investigations in the last several decades (e.
g. , Guerra, Tolan & Hammond, 1994). As a result bullying has been identified as a significant problem that can affect the physical and psychological health of children that are bullied and student who bully their peers at an early age (Batsche, Knoff, 1994).Bullying includes actions such as name calling, teasing social exclusion and hitting. Past research of bullying has advanced our understanding of aggression towards others; it has been limited by its focus on overt aggression (Crick 1995, 1997). Thus, bullying behaviors are characteristics of early adolescents including verbal threats and teasing are less understood.
Victims of School Bullying So many children and families have been victimized because of bullying.Children are committing suicide rapidly because they are not sure how to handle the pressure of being bullied. They have not been taught how to properly stand up for themselves against a bully nor have they been taught that it’s ok to notify an adult or an administrative member in case they are being bullied. There is a serious issue at hand when a child seeks suicide as an escape for being bullied. In my opinion, society is not taking enough precautions to prevent these kinds of acts from affecting our youth.
There has yet to be a proven effective punishment for bullying. It has gotten so out of control that now it is hard to decide who shall be punished. School staff has decided that both people should be punished because it would be unfair to punish just one student. It is unfair to punish children who stand up or defend themselves toward a bully because there is a lack of substantial proof of who the responsible party is. How is this setting an example or preventing bullying from happening in the future?It is a clear way of saying to a child who is the victim; nobody cares what you have had to endure because they suffer consequences from another peer bullying them.
Conclusion In conclusion, victims of bullying are getting the short end of the stick. Cases of this crime are reported everyday but the wrong children are being penalized for it. No one knows how to prevent bullying especially over social networks because it has become an epidemic. I hope it can be prevented one day.
