October is National Bullying Prevention Month according to the PACER National Center for Bullying Prevention. This campaign, started in 2006, brings awareness to schools and children across the country about the signs, behaviors and dangerous effects of bullying. It also emphasis the view point that peer bullying is destructive and demoralizing and should not be simply brushed off as a right-of-passage for kids, adolescents, teens and young adults.
National Bullying Prevention Month brings national attention back to bullying every year, especially with a focus on the future of bullying. With the continued impact and development of social media, cyber bullying is becoming more and more common as the age of exposure to technology falls. As a result, we are hearing less and less about middle and high school incidents involving school-based bullying and more about online bullying. For example, a bully could post a picture of someone on Facebook and make hostile and mean comments about that person.
According to federal “Stop Bullying” website, cyber bulling is defined as, “Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology.” Some examples of cyberbullying might include, “mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.” Unfortunately, these types of hurt are becoming increasingly more common.
If you feel bullied, whether in-person or online, PACER recommends the best thing you can do is talk to a trusted adult or loved one. While you will be fearful at first of the truth and telling on friends, those adults and others have the wisdom to best navigate you through a difficult time. If you feel like your friends are making you feel badly about yourself, tell me to stop. If they don’t stop or continue, talk to your trusted adult and separate yourself from your friends. If it’s another classmate or someone you aren’t close with, go straight to a trusted adult or a school administrator if applicable for further action. If you have a school counselor or guidance counselor, they can be a great first stop in the journey.
About the author
Blake Strader is Walden’s Social Media Intern. In this role, he is responsible for researching topics related to Walden’s business, writing blog posts, and keeping the public up-to-date on Walden’s doings via Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, and LinkedIn. Currently, Blake is in pursuit of a Computer and Information Systems degree from Bentley University.
