Hi All! Today I watched the ABC Family movie Cyberbully. I liked it overall even though it went a little extreme at points, but in all sincerity it was scary how accurate some parts were. High school is a scary place to be, and the internet brings all the torture home. Kids can be cruel. Unfortunately, we're all guilty of lashing out and saying something we didn't mean, especially when we're young and just don't understand the consequences. However, I can confidently say I had only made this mistake a couple times and quickly apologized even though I know the damage had been done. Unfortunately for my bullies, I never got an apology for my torment. I don't think people quite understand how damaging words can be.
"slut" "bitch" "ugly" "nerd" "whore" "disgusting"
"retard" "gross" "loser" "fag" "dumb"
What hurts me right now is knowing for a fact that most of you reading this have heard one or more of those words, or worse. I know I have. Words hurt. Just because they're said online and not to someone's face doesn't mean they aren't painful. What's worse is it becomes permanent. I know when I received these messages anonymously through the Honesty Box app (Facebook has now removed this application; YAY!), I revisited them constantly. Not because I enjoyed feeling ridiculed, but because they were stuck there as a reminder of what these people thought of me no matter how untrue the comments were. And every other day or so I'd get a nice comment that would make it a little better. But studies have shown that people experience a 5 times greater rate of response to negative comments than positive comments. So no matter how positive a comment could be, a negative comment could ruin your whole week. So why do people do this? Why is it so easy for someone to say such horrible things to another person?
Bullying has rapidly become an issue in our society that can no longer be ignored. Kids are committing suicide due to their harassment because they see no other way out of it. There is a huge sense of loneliness when insults are so permanent and public online. There is an even larger sense of entrapment. The statistics are overwhelming. 1 in 10 students drop out of school because of bullying. There are reported 2.7 million kids bullied a year. 17% of students who miss school say it is because of a fear of being bullied. It is shown that boys tend to be more physically aggressive and expressive, and that girls tend to be more emotionally aggressive. This is not true across the board, but it is shown most in studies. With this information we can try to intervene safely and prevent bullying and meanness.
Perhaps we can implement anger management sessions in schools for people who struggle as bullies. We can stress that when someone is bothering you to inform an adult rather than keep it to yourself or spread rumors. We can stress that it is better to face a problem than ignore it, but that this should be done in a respectful manner; if you have a problem with someone that you want to resolve, there are healthy ways to go about doing this. We can help teach kids how to safely use the internet, how to keep your information private, and what to do if someone is harassing you online. We can reiterate RESPECT. We can always use the, "if you don't have something nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all" policy!
Now I know I've talked about bullying and its link to domestic abuse on here before, but this post is really just a reminder to be nice. Be nice to anyone and everyone. There is no reason not to. Smile. Say hi. Open the door for someone. Be wary of how you speak to people both in person and online. Be careful not to lash out or feel the need to get revenge on someone who has been mean to you. Revenge is best served cold. Getting even only makes you as bad as the person who hurt you. Be a better person, and stand up against what's wrong without stooping to their level. Make them aware that they are being hurtful, insensitive, and if they don't listen then it's their problem. Strive to be a better person every day, whatever that means for you. If you see that someone is being bullied, either get an adult involved or stand up against it if it's safe for you to do so. You could save someone's life.
I've left you with some links for information and a video that URI students made to stand up against bullying. It's all wonderful, so I hope you view it and enjoy it! Don't forget to participate in my poll (scroll up and it's on the right!) and thank you so much for your ongoing support. Do your part and stop the hurt.
http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-statistics-2010.html
http://bullying.org/
http://www.stopbullying.gov/
URI Stands Up Against Bullying, Will You?
No comments:
Post a Comment