Bullying

Nothing angers me more than hearing about bullying. Growing up, I unfortunately had plenty of experience with bullies, and at the time, I truly couldn't figure out why they did what they did, but now I do know. I know that people partake in bullying for a number of reasons, but the largest one is power coupled with insecurity. People bully others so that they can feel better about themselves, because they don't possess the security of character that would allow them to feel good about themselves without tearing someone else down. As a child, I got teased for a number of things; my freckles, my awkwardness, and my naivete. While I grew out of most of those for the most part, the memories still linger as I'm sure they do with anyone who has experienced bullying at a young age. Another big reason people take part in bullying is to feel that they are part of a group. Picking on someone who is different from everyone else provides those doing the tormenting with a sense of belonging, unfortunately they think that the only way to experience the feeling of belonging, they need to make someone else feel unwelcome.

With the dawn of the internet, so many opportunities arose, unfortunately, a new medium for attacking others came about with it. Thankfully I grew up just before/during the early days of social media, so cyber bullying wasn't something I had the displeasure of experiencing. However, kids now obviously aren't so lucky. To me, the scariest thing about the concept of cyber bullying is the inescapability of it. Kids can't go online or look at their phones without witnessing the cutting remarks and hurtful torments, and with how dependent on the internet we are, not only for fun, but for school, work, etc. there really is no way to avoid technology forever. As someone who has lived with depression for so long, I know how deeply hurtful remarks from others can cut, how long they can last, and the tole that they can take on one's psychological well being. If a child hears the same torments for long enough, they will begin to believe them, and they will allow them to take control and keep them down, effectively damaging them as a person for an immeasurable amount of time. The really sad thing is, bullying isn't exclusive to children. Adults who are not well adjusted are just as capable of tearing people down and causing damage as a child is, and unfortunately, many do just that. However, one thing that keeps me optimistic is the fact that the issue of bullying is no longer in the background like it was for all the generations that came before. Most people are well aware of the issue of bullying, and many people and organizations are making honest efforts to make a change. While we'll never be able to truly and wholly eradicate bullying, given the obvious fact that for some people, it's just in their nature, the simple fact that there are people out there trying makes a huge difference.