Bullying:FacetheFacts

byAmandaSpooner

:::TableofContents:::
1. TheBigPicture
2. BullyingFacts
3. IntotheAuthorsMind
4. BallsStory
5. MakeaChange/DefinitionofBullying
6. HowBallImpactstheWorld
7. FinalThoughts
8. WorksCited

TheBigPicture
Rememberthattimewhenyouwenthomeandcriedbecauseyouwerebeingbullied?
Orthetimeyoustayedhomefromschoolforaweekbecauseyouwerescared?Their
thoughtsaremeanttohurttheyresupposedtomakeyoufeeldownanddepressed.Bullying
isoneofthemanyproblemsstudentsandadultsaroundtheworldexperienceduringtheir
lifetime.Itssupposedtomakeyoufeellikeyourenothing,butthebullysthoughtsdont
matteryoucanpullthrough.Iwillbeexpressingsomefactsaboutthissituation,whyI
chosetoalertpeopleaboutthistopic,howoneofthemanyactivistsrosetohercurrent
state,howyoucanhelpandhowbullyingisdefined,alongwithhowmyspecificactivist
impactstheworld.Myevidencewillbesuretoshowhowthevictimsofbullyingneedyour
help.

FactsofBullying
Bullyingisadiseasethataffectsover3.2
millionstudentseachyear.Inaddition,
about160,000ofthoseteensskipschool
everydaybecauseofthisvirus,alongwith
every1in10studentswhomaydropout
duetobullying.Mostteensareshytoadmit
theyvebeenbullied.Infact,itsclaimed
thatbyage14lessthan30%ofboysand
40%ofgirlswilltalktotheirpeersabout
bullying(DoSomething.org).Researchers
havelearnedthat,over67%ofstudents
believethatschoolsrespondpoorlyto
bullying,withahighpercentageofstudents
believingthatadulthelpisinfrequentand
ineffective.

IntotheAuthorsMind

Theoutrageousoutcomesofbullyingmademewanttochoosethistopic.Bullyingcan
causehealthconcerns,educationissues,andsafetyproblems.Gradesmaydrop,someone
mayattemptsuicidethesearejustsomeoftheridiculous
outcomesofbullying.Anothershockingfactfrom
DoSomething.orgstatesthat90%of4ththrough8thgraders
reportbeingvictimsofbullying.Thisisimportantbecauseitsa
bigpercentage!Myfriends,myfamilymembers,myclassmates,
andevenmyselfhaveallbeenbulliedatsomepointinourlife.
Youmaythinknothinggoodcancomeoutofthetortureyou
mayexperienceeverydayofyourlife.However,itmademy
friendsandIstrongerindividuals,andwelearnedtonotpay
attentiontonegativeopinionspeoplehaveaboutus.Ignoring
whatbulliessaytoyouwouldcausemorepeopletohave
betterselfconfidence,andmoreselfesteem.

BallsStory
Atage16,SarahBallwascyberbulliedonsocialmediabecauseofabreakupthat
occurredbetweenherandherboyfriend.Shewasa
strongand
spiritual
(heavyreligiousbelief)girl,who

eventuallysawthepainherfriendswereshoweringher
withonsocialmedia.Shehadhidthefactshewasbullied,
anddidnttellherparents.Inadditiontothat,herfather
spokeoutduringaninterviewandsaidthatSarahchose
apathtohelpotherswhicheventually,unknowntoherat
thetime,helpedherself(KimDame).Thisshowsthatshe
benefittedfromhelpingotherpeopleworldwidebecauseit
madestrongerrelationshipswithherfriendsandfamily.

MakeaChange/DefinitionofBullying
Bullyingisamajorworldwideproblembecauseitaffectsmillionsofstudents.A
bully
hasbeendefinedassomeonewhomakesyou
feellessaboutwhoyouareasaperson

(PACER).Thismeansthatthevictimofbullyinghastheirselfesteemslowlydrainedaway.
MoststatesintheU.S.havepassedlawstotryandstopthisproblemanditmadesome
impact,yetbullyingisstillarelevantissuetothisday.Tosolvethisproblem,weneedtohelp
eachother.Weneedtostandupforoneanother,andmakesurethepersonthatsbullying
youknowsthatyouwantthemtostop.Ifitgetstooserious,tellyourparents.Oryoucango
talktotheguidancecounseloraboutyourexperience.

HowBallImpactstheWorld
Myactivist,andeverystudentbeingbullied,canbothimpactbullyinginsomesame
anddifferentways.AccordingtoDamesHernandoTodayarticle,Ballsaysthatrespectis
missinginteensandadults.Thisisimportantbecausesomestudentsandadultsdont
completelyunderstandwhatrespectreallyis.Youcanbecomeanactivistyourself,andstarta
foundationlikeSarahBall.Whenshewasonly16,shestartedtheUnbreakableorganization
toalertpeoplearoundtheworldabout
cyberbullying.Or,ifyourereallycommitted
youcouldalsobelikeSarahBallandhavea
10monthjourneyaroundtheworldto
spreadmessagesabout
abstinence
(a

restraintfromsomethingviewedasgiving
pleasure),bullying,oranythingyoufeel
thatyoucanfightfor.However,thereare
otherwaysyouandyourpeerscanbelike
Balloneofthemanyteenactiviststhatis
fightingagainstbullying.Ifwecanallstandupforoneanother,andtrytodefendourpeers
thenwemayputanendtobullying.

FinalThoughts
Yourhelpisnecessarytostopbullying,anddecreasetheamountofvictims.Weneed
toworktogether,standupforoneanother,andrespectoneanother.Somekidsandadults
havealreadystarteddoingthat,andbecameactivists.Theresawholecommunityofactivists
whostandandthrivetohelpvictimsofthistopic.Ihopethatoneday,astudentwonthave
tostayhomebecauseinsultsthatsomeonesaidaboutthemgottotheirhead.Learningmore

aboutthistopicshowedmethatIshouldcaremoreaboutthepeoplearoundme,ratherthan
mostlyfocusingonmyfriendsandI.Ithinkcaringmoreaboutthepeoplearoundyouisa
veryimportantrolethatweneedtostartdoing,andIfeelitsanimportantlifelesson.
Overall,Ifeelthatweallneedtopayattentiontothepeoplearoundus.Ibelievethatthose
bullyingvictimshavean
impenetrable
(impossibletopassthroughorenter)wallinfrontof
thosevictims,andthoseofusnotaffectedaretheonlyonesthatcanbreakitdown.When
thestormhits,willyourunawayfromitorstandandhelptheotherinnocentpeople?

WorksCited

Dame,Kim.TeenCyberbullyingActivistTurnsToMessageOfAbstinence.HernandoToday.24May,2014.
Web.29January2016.
http://hernandotoday.com/teencyberbullyingactivistturnstomessageofabstinence/
BullyingInfoandFacts.PACER.Web.29January2016.
http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/infofacts.asp

11FactsAboutBullying.DoSomething.org.Web.1February2016.
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11factsaboutbullying

IntroductionPicturewasfoundat:http://supportseekers.info/bullyingbymariaevangelopoulos/

Chapter1Diagramwasfoundat:
http://www.adrhub.com/forum/topics/cyberbullying?commentId=4905899%3AComment%3A43828

Chapter2Listwasfoundat:http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/543731_4

Chapter3Picture(SarahBall)wasfoundat:
http://hernandotoday.com/teencyberbullyingactivistturnstomessageofabstinence/

Chapter4Mapwasfoundat:
http://www.savingforsomeday.com/ifbullyingwasadiseasewouldwehaveacurealready/

Chapter5Picturewasfoundat:http://www.pgsd.org/Domain/58