Bullying in School is only Getting Worse

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bullying affects twenty percent of high school students. Bullying is a negative action that has continued to occur in education systems all around the world. There are a few reasons as to why the bullying rates seem to be increasing over the years. Nowadays it is normal for children to be given cell phones at such an early age. These teens are so young which is a huge cause for the negative use of social media. Another reason for bullying is teens often compare themselves to fake media and feel insecure, which leads to them bringing others down to make themselves look better. Studies show that twenty-eight percent of American teens ages 11-18 have been bullied. Targets of bullying may be of other race, sexuality, or could also have some kind of disability. Many of us may believe the US education system has the highest rates for bullying, which is false, Austria takes that rate.

Bullying may appear bad in the United States, but statistics show there are many others countries that have it worse. With LGBTQ+ becoming a big organization in today’s world bullying rates have increased. A source found on Google states “Students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, asexual or non-binary are more likely to be targeted by school bullies for being different. Bullying of people of a different sexual orientation or gender identity can be brutal — and can even lead to assault.” (Wasatch Academy Organization.) The Wasatch Academy also suggested that teachers should start to set a good example by including all in order to help prevent events like this in the world’s education systems. According to ScienceDaily.com, “In 1991, the average coming-out age was 25. But as of 2010... it is 16 years old.” Coming out at age 16 can be very hard for many. These teens are just beginning their high school years. For them to have the courage to come out at that age is amazing. Bullies throughout the world in school feel as though these teens are easy targets because they’re “different.”

Austria has the biggest reports of bullying. Cyber abuse in Austria got so bad that police have started to investigate social media and texts on many teens cell phones. It is crazy that something so good such as cell phones can have such a negative effect on our society. This Scholastic article states a few ideas on cyberbullying:

They may not call it cyberbullying. Students may say they got ""dissed"" on Facebook or that someone flooded their phone with mean texts. Even little kids have been known to hack into Club Penguin to sabotage each other's games. While most of these incidents occur at home, the problems spill over to the classroom, making cyberbullying an issue teachers can't ignore. The answer isn't forbidding technology, say experts, so much as teaching kids right from wrong. As a teacher, you can be a powerful force in promoting a climate of respect. Educate yourself and be on the lookout for signs that cyberbullying is taking place, because you may be the trusted adult a student turns to for help. (Scholastic.com)

Another factor is parental supervision. If children are never taught the right thing then it is very unlikely they will DO the right thing. Children need to be supported in order to grow up and make the right decisions. They need to feel love and peace. Many children are often gifted cell phones at such a young age. It would not be a problem if all were taught how to properly use them. And not only that but how to properly treat people. This is becoming a huge problem all around the world in the education system.It is hard to know when it is right to trust children and young teens with cell phones and social media. There are many ways that bullying could be prevented, including supervision, love, and properly using all cellular devices.

Suicide and self-harm has been a very scary effect of bullying. “Though too many adults still see bullying as “just part of being a kid,” it is a serious problem that leads to many negative effects for victims, including suicide. Many people may not realize that there is also a link between being a bully and committing suicide,” (Bullyingstatistics.org). Teen suicide is happening all over the world. Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University.

Whether it is about body image, sexuality, or race bullies have found ways to pick on others. There is the bully, the victim, and the bystander. It is important that we tell a trusted adult if we ever witness any type of bullying going on around us. Phones have created a simple platform for bullying to occur. There are many people who choose to bully others anonymously and with certain anonymous apps such as sarahah and ask fm. It is so sad to think that this is happening all around us and we may not be able to even notice it. We need to stop this because bullying has become a huge cause of child/teen suicide. It is so sad to think that someone could be so selfish as to try and make others feel bad about themselves to the point where they don’t feel the need to live. Let this be a great lesson. We can easily try harder to spread kindness and positivity. We can all learn to not be rude to someone just because they were rude to us. Let’s step up and be the bigger person.

Cite this page