Bullying and Cyberbullying.

Have you ever been bullied or have you ever been the bully? Bullying can occur physically, such as kicking, pushing, punching, etcetera, and verbally, such as name calling or just saying mean things to one another. This happens in every age group, and in America, it is an issue that doesn’t get pay the attention it needs, and in consequence, bullying is getting worse and worse every day. So bullying is not only presented an environment with kids or teenagers, but it can also be in work environments, and it is an aggressive behavior that involves a victim and an offender which is repeated several times.

In this essay I will explain, in different paragraphs, what bullying is, the differences between cyber-bullying and traditional bullying, how it affects people, the symptoms of a bullied person and how to deal with bullying. I will back this information with different articles which were written by psychologist, sociologists, psychiatrist and doctors, which had studied the field over the years and written different articles about it.

This essay is based in four different sources. The first one is HelpGuide.org, the article called “Bullying and Cyberbullying” which explains the difference between them, the effects of each one of them, how to deal with a bully and more. The second source is by MedicineNet, which also talks about the different types of bullying, the symptoms of a bullied person, the effects of bullying and more. The third source is by NCBI called “Approach to bullying and victimization” which the objective of the article is to see the difference between bullying and cyberbullying, indicators of bullying, the forms of bullying, and more. And finally the last article is by KidsHealth.org called “What is bullying?” which of course tells us what is it, the types, the effects, and more information.

To start, lets define what bullying and cyberbullying is, according to our articles. “Bullying is a repeated aggressive behavior that can be physical, verbal, or relational that involves an imbalance of power between the people involved. People usually think of bullying as taking place between children at school. However, it can also occur at work, which includes aggressive behaviors like verbal abuse, sabotaging the victim's job or work relationship, or misusing authority”.(MedicineNet)

Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that doesn’t require face-to-face contact and isn’t limited to just a handful of witnesses at a time. Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. It includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. Even though it is online, it can hurt and harm people in the same ways as if it would be in person as bullying is.

“Symptoms experienced by victims of bullying may be physical, emotional, and behavioral. Some physical symptoms could include those associated with stress, like headaches, stomachaches, changes in appetite, and more. Psychological symptoms often include irritability, trouble sleeping, anxiety, sadness, nightmares, loneliness, and feeling isolated. Victims of bullying also show symptoms that affect their behavior, like avoiding getting into social situations, being late for school or for work, taking off more days, for kids also skipping school without telling parents and more of these symptoms.” (MedicineNet) Also, for kids their grades may decline and kids and adults that experience bullying or cyberbullying may become self-destructive (hurting themselves or thinking about suicide).

There are some ways that could help to deal with a bully, such as, first of all, and the most important of all don’t blame yourself for the bullying you are receiving. “It is never your fault. No matter what a bully says or does, you should not be ashamed of who you are or what you feel and that is never a reason to why you should receive this”. (HelpGuide.org) Another way is, if cyberbullying is the case, try not to pay attention to what they are saying, try not to read over and over those messages, instead try to delete them and focus on things that you like in your life. The third way to help you to deal with bullying is to find healthy ways to relieve the stress generated by bullying can make you more resilient so you won’t feel overwhelmed by negative experiences. The fourth and last way is to try to build your confidence up by doing activities you enjoy, like get involved in a sport team, in some art activity, or whatever you enjoy.

In conclusion, bullying is present everywhere, it is not only a problem that kids or teenagers face, it is a problem that is also present in places where grown up people are, such as an office or any work place, and this problem needs to be addressed with importance and with seriousness because it affects people in deep ways, which could start with simple things, such as headaches, or stomachaches, then it could turn into missing school or work, not doing well in some classes or in the work, and it could end in some people contemplating suicide or hurting themselves.