What is bullying?
According to Wikipedia: Bullying is the use of force, coercion, or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behaviour is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imbalance of physical or social power. This imbalance distinguishes bullying from conflict. Bullying is a sub-category of aggressive behaviour characterized by the following three criteria:
(1) hostile intent,
(2) imbalance of power, and
(3) repetition over a period of time. Bullying is the activity of repeated, aggressive behaviour intended to hurt another individual, physically, mentally, or emotionally. Today, bullying can take many forms and happen across a variety of platforms. As a parent at home or a teacher at school, are you aware of the many different ways that bullying can manifest itself. Knowing the signs, the precursors and the right steps to take can help mitigate or prevent it, but it all starts with being informed.
What are the different types of bullying?
Pushing and shoving isn’t the end-all, be-all type of bullying that people of all ages participate in. In fact, there are six main categories of bullying that define different techniques and methods used to intimidate someone. Let’s take a look at what they entail.
• Cyber
• Physical
• Verbal
• Emotional
• Prejudicial
• Sexual Cyber bullying Cyber bullying takes its toll and can happen in many forms. It can even originate from strangers online and become relentless. When a tween or a teen uses the Internet, a Smartphone, or other technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person, it is cyber bullying. If an adult is involved in the harassment, it is called cyber-harassment or cyber stalking.
It’s no secret that we’re raising a generation of children who are more tech-savvy and connected than ever before. In fact, industry research shows that seven in 10 teenagers in the world now have at least one mobile device. Thanks to chat groups, social media, and other online forums, students can communicate and collaborate with each other in real-time. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy for cyber bullies to hide behind the protection of a screen. When they don’t have to face their target in person, they’re more comfortable using words or actions that they might not use in real life. Also, Cyber bullying occurs when someone uses the internet to share hurtful comments, slander, embarrass, threaten, harass or otherwise harm someone else. Though the issue is wide and varied, there are some activities that have become the trademark of cyber bullies.
A few examples include:
• Posting hurtful comments
• Sharing hurtful or embarrassing images
• Making threats online
• Sending hurtful emails or text messages The more that teens and tweens are plugged in, the bigger of an issue this will become. Like verbal bullying, cyber bullying can leave long-lasting scars of hurt and shame. It’s also almost impossible to escape this form of harassment, as those with smart devices are almost always attached to them.
Case study
Amanda, a 7th grade student was approached online by a male stranger. He convinced her to flash her breasts while on a webcam. That one instance led to relentless cyber bullying and the threat of exposure. He contacted her on Facebook to get her to take part in a live sex show on camera. If she didn’t, he’d share the photo of her breasts with her friends. When Amanda refused to give in, the stranger shared the photo online for the world to see. Soon enough, bullies contacted her and she couldn’t escape the cyber bullying. Tragically, Amanda’s second attempt to kill herself was successful, but she did leave a video telling the full story of what led to this point.
Continues NEXT WEEK
