Impacts of Bullying

Have you ever been made feel like you are not part of this society?

This is a common feeling that has been encountered by several individuals in their daily lives. This feeling results from and is manifested in the name of bullying. In the article, “Bullying in Schools” Olweus David articulates the impact brought about by this act. Back in the time of writing the article, bullying was not a common phenomenon and it entailed physical harassment of an individual. However, the current society is faced with high rates of bullying cases that range from simple deeds such as teasing one via a text message to undermining the efforts of an individual in the public, particularly in offices and at work. The invention of technology has further perpetuated this device.  The Research Press Publishers put forward an article known as “Break the Bully Cycle”. It highlights the laws that govern the individuals’ rights and liberties. In essence, it prohibits bullying, particularly in schools. It further stresses out that going against the set laws would be a punishable offense. I agree with Olweus that bullying has transformed from the physical acts committed back in time to simple hurtful actions. In contrast to the second article, I do believe this law is of great assistance to diminishing the offenses. Nonetheless, not all bullying happens in schools since it may occur in places like homes and on computers, otherwise known as a recently increased phenomenon of cyber-bullying. Based on these facts, a lot needs to be done to correct this anomaly (Olweus 34).

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I have been bullied before and the experience somehow made me stronger

With time, I became so tough that no individual could dare bully me anymore. I was shaped by this experience as it enabled me to acknowledge school rules and regulations. As much as some instances were way beyond my control, in the long run bullying changed some aspects about me. In most cases individuals who fall victim of this act tend to be timid and never fight back. Contrary to this notion, I could retaliate on any attempt to be bullied. This action saved me on several occasions but still I could succumb to some that were extremely beyond my power. Bullying has profound psychological impact on its victims. The experience of being bullied may lead to school drop out since a student may become extremely frightened by this act.

Bullying is a type of abuse that entails the imitation of specific deeds that embrace a genuine or superficial inequality of authority in the sense that that the more influential person or group of people trample on the less influential individuals. These discrepancies of authority may either be within the social or physical dimension. The person who does the act is known as the bully while the individual who is faced with such act is the victim. The action of harassment generally entails restrained processes of coercion. This may include psychological exploitation. It is important to acknowledge that there is no solitary unanimously operational description of the expression of bullying. All the same, lots of countries in the whole world have well outlined laws which inhibit the perpetuation of this misdeed. It is furthermore important to realize that bullying also exists in places of work. Office bullying has the same detrimental impact as well. Bullying has become so rampant in schools and this has impacted negatively the education sector. School bullying is a form of bullying which is linked to education, and it may occur inside or outside the school. Prior to handling any matter related to bullying in institutions, an individual ought to be well informed about the consequences associated with this occurrence (Olweus 42). Furthermore, the individual should acknowledge that bullying needs to be dealt with. Bullying has resulted to various forms of injuries including emotional, physical and verbal abuses.

There exists some resistance from several groups of individuals who propose that there is nothing wrong with bullying, particularly with regard to a student’s health. A lot of this resistance comes from those individuals who argue that they were bullied while in school and their health was not affected. This forethought may not be surprising since one of the surveys carried out in Australian schools revealed that almost a half of the school population had not come across any form of bullying while in school (Khalsa 45). Consequently, some individuals assert that bullying assisted them in developing new survival tactics. This happened because they were able to counter the challenges associated with bullying. In the end, they became tougher and more experienced. This is not a shocking reflection since about fourteen percent of Australian students, who experienced some sort of bullying in the abovementioned study, emphasized that they were least troubled by it. It ought to be acknowledged that such students are frequently the strong and resilient ones. Only a smaller fraction of bullied students asserted that they were bothered by bullying. Therefore, it is essential to provide comprehensible and credible proof in order to be in a better position to explain the situation to people who doubt such consequences. This may prove vital in highlighting the impact that bullying has on children’s wellbeing.

The consequences of harassment on school children may be relentless

In some instances, it may even be fatal. Investigations that are continually being done reveal that persons, whether adults or children, who are continuously subjected to insulting acts have a higher risk of obtaining stress related sicknesses. These sicknesses may make an individual develop suicidal thoughts. In fact, quite a high number of suicidal attempts may be linked to bullying. This may be substantiated by the amount of suicidal attempts all over the world that are directly or indirectly linked to bullying. For example, it is approximated that fourteen to twenty four percent of children in the United Kingdom commit suicide due to being bullied. A United States Secret Service report of 2002 further indicates that harassment played a vital role in numerous shootings and serious crimes that took place in various schools (Williams and Forgás 46). They recommended that the way of diminishing such incidences is to attempt to eradicate bullying from schools. Additionally, studies have revealed that bullying victims normally experience long lasting behavioral as well as emotional tribulations. Generally, bullying is associated with low self-esteem, nervousness, solitude and hopelessness. On the other hand, it may make an individual become an introvert as well as vulnerable to other diseases.

Established studies indicate that bullying behavior among the adults has its foundation in childhood lifestyle one had. According to Olweus, if aggressive behavior is not appropriately taken care of during childhood, the probability that such behavior would thrive in adulthood is high and would turn out to be a habit (page number). In reality, studies have highlighted that those students who harass their counterparts while in school have a high chance of developing unlawful behaviors. In addition, such individuals are prone to engage in domestic violence. Furthermore, these children tend to nurture personalities that are typified by dictatorship and the sensation of supremacy (Khalsa 45). They may also develop egotistical and arrogant traits. In most cases they continue to apply their bullying behavior when handling issues. This acts as a tool to disguise their indignity and nervousness as well as boost their self-esteem.

Possible Solutions

Regardless of the fact that many  articles have articulated the concept of bullying and the fact that there is a surmountable amount of information about the issue on the internet, proof on the impact of bullying on individuals remains open for debate and in most cases it is disregarded. Most of these researches are based on cross-sectional studies. As a result, a lot of individuals dismiss the findings as plain correlations. Some detractors, for instance, have proposed that victimization does not guarantee the development of lowered self-esteem among the bullied students. Others propose that bullies usually go for those individuals they perceive as timid and having low self-esteem. In addition, they allege that as much as the bullied children may be troubled by this act, they tend to overcome the feeling quite fast. With regard to such assertions, it is only longitudinal study designs that can lead to comprehensive and credible results on bullying. Without any doubt, it is exceedingly apparent that a small number of studies truly continue to examine the wellbeing of bullied children who have been subjected to such studies (Brady 67).

Nonetheless, it is very unethical and potentially troublesome to accept bullying since it is an awful behavior though there is no sufficient pragmatic proof to ascertain this reality as a deed that disregards the collective rights of humans. The development of human rights that cut across the entire universe should be started right from homes of individuals, their schooling institutions, their places of work or even farms. These places should act as sources of equal dignity, equal opportunity as well as justice for children and their parents. With regard to this, it is essential that these rights are upheld in order for them to be meaningful in the society. Consequently, children ought to be protected against bullying in schools as required by the law. This will also avert the development of uncouth behavior among these students.

Conclusion

As much as numerous educational bodies have been involved with formulating and developing the practice of anti-bullying promotion policies, there still exists a lot of work that need to be done in order to curb this behavior. With regard to schools, an extra effort ought to be put particularly when it comes to laws that inhibit the act of bullying. Such laws ought to be clear in these institutions in order to enhance awareness among the students. Strict supervision need to be developed, as well as provision of help and guidance to the vulnerable students.

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