Bullying is not the answer | Teen Ink

Bullying is not the answer

February 22, 2013
By Brianna Welch BRONZE, Oswego, Illinois
Brianna Welch BRONZE, Oswego, Illinois
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Imagine that kid who was picked on at school. Think about his peers taunting and threatening him. What if he snapped, what if he couldn’t take the abuse anymore? Imagine that he took his own life because he felt there was no way out. Now make this a reality. Everyday kids take their lives to deal with bullying. Stop bullying it hurts.

Obviously, bullying is a dangerous problem. It is not a way of life but instead more of a situation. Not much good can from bullying and it usually starts and ends badly. The root of the problem is the bully himself. Depending on the situation a bully can have reasons for bullying. For instance, a bully could be having trouble at home. His parents or siblings could be abusive or aggressive towards him. This not only teaches the bully to be violent and physical, but it also has him scared. In his home he has no power and has to fend for himself. At home the bully is all alone with no one to help him out in a time of need. This type of situation causes bullying because the only life the bully knows is to be aggressive. At school the bully will want power. He doesn’t want to feel scared he wants students to be intimidated by him. So, in a desperate attempt to gain control in his life, he picks a victim. The victim would just be there so the bully can let out his anger. There are different types of bullying and each need to be taken seriously. The three types of bullying are moderate, mild, and severe. The bully could go from one extreme to the next and it would be difficult to react. Without a doubt bullying needs to stop. It is unsafe and people are threatened by it every day. Bullying is known to cause kids to commit suicide because they feel they have no way out. Many teen suicides are linked to severe school bullying. Other effects can include kid’s grades suffering, damaged self-esteem and depression. This is not how a kid’s life should be. It is a choice that a person makes. It is a person’s decision to do hurtful acts at another individual. The decision to bully could come from what a kid grows up with. One bad decision could end another kid’s life. We need to save kid’s lives and prevent bullying by standing up to bullying.

Equally important to school bullying is cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is where a person of any age will bully someone using electronic devices like a phone or computer. Usually the bully is an underdog, someone shy and socially awkward. The bully could also be a past victim of bullying and as an act of revenge he cyber bullies. Many cyber bullies bully through electronics because it keeps their identity hidden, it takes less energy and courage, and also they don’t have to see the distress of their victim. Also, again, a cyber bully could bully to get revenge and usually they feel there is nothing wrong with that. There is a choice made if the cyber bully wants to get revenge or just cyber bully because they want to keep their identity a secret. Just because the option to bully is there it doesn’t mean you have to. A cyber bully bullies by being a cyber stalker. A cyber stalker is where a person will stalk another person by using the internet or other electronic devices. The victim is most likely going to feel intimidated and followed. In most cases the victim ends up feeling trapped and feeling like they can’t escape. This is a terrible situation to be in because the cyber bully would be anonymous so you would have no idea who is following you. It could be a kid from school, an adult you know, an adult you don’t know, or anyone who has an electronic device. You can receive threats or disturbing images. You could get aggressive messages or messages that tease you. Overall this needs to stop because overtime people get affected more and more by receiving a text from their cyber bully. This endangers people’s lives because they will commit suicide because of cyber bullying. Victims usually give out cyber threats before they take their life. These threats are called cyber threats. A direct cyber threat states their intentions of wanting to harm themself. An example is “I’m going to end my life.” An indirect threat is not directly warning a person but the idea of harm is still there. An indirect threat would be, “What is the point of living? The world is better off without me.” These are signs to look out for because you could talk someone out of taking their life. Other effects of cyber bullying include poor grades, depression, running away, and becoming extremely ill. The choice to cyber bully affects kids greatly. Kids don’t have to deal with cyber bullying unless someone decides to cyber bully. It is a rotten decision that is made too often. Kids endure this torment constantly and it is very hard to stop. No one knows who the cruel person is behind the cell phone or computer. Bullying needs to end because kids suffer greatly because of it. It is a scary situation to be in and it is very stressful. No one wants to be followed or stalked.

In the end, any form of bullying is bad. You wouldn’t want to be bullied so don’t let other people get bullied either. Stand up against bullying and stop it if you can. People need to treat others how they want to be treated. They need to learn to make good decisions that won’t put others down. Don’t let bullying affect people’s lives. It is hard to deal with constant torment. Don’t ignore it, get involved and make the right decision. The choice is yours.



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