What bullying is?

Bullying continues to be an increasing problem in the world. Bullying was thought to be a problem in schools and the education system; however, bullying affects adults in the corporate world. Bullying harms everyone involved, the victim, the perpetrator, and the witnesses. To date, there is not a simple solution to bullying, but prevention approaches have been put in place to fight this crisis.

BULLYING

Bullying is the use of power and force to control or cause harm to another person. Bullying is more than a conflict, argument, or fight. For an incident to be considered bullying, the behavior must be unwanted and aggressive. There also must be an observable power imbalance between the bully and the victim. Lastly, the bullying behaviors must have a distinctive pattern of repetition or a high probability of being repeated. Bullying is a form of abuse. 

TYPES OF BULLYING

Physical Bullying

Physical bullying is the easiest to observe and identify. This form of bullying involves punching, kicking, pushing, hitting, blocking, and all other forms of aggressive touching and physical attacks. Physical bullying causes a person to fear for their safety, making it impossible for them to function in their daily lives. The fear of other beatings prevents the victims from reporting the abuse. Physical bullying signs include unexplained bruises, missing or torn clothing, anxiety and moodiness, reluctance to go to school or work, and other changes in the victim’s normal behavior. Physical bullying is more prevalent in youth through adolescence than adulthood, but it does happen in all age groups.

Verbal Bullying

Verbal bullying is the saying and writing of cruel and hurtful things to another person. This type of bullying does not involve physical contact. Bullying has expanded from in-person to online cyberbullying, making it easier for bullies to attack their victims from anywhere. Examples of verbal bullying are making fun of someone, teasing, yelling, name-calling, threatening harm, and doing any of these things on social media, emails, and text messages. Verbal bullying can be challenging to spot and address. 

Social/Relational Bullying

Social/Relational bullying is very common but has not always been seen as a form of bullying. This type of bullying focuses on deliberately excluding and alienating a person from social acceptance and events. An example of this bullying is intentionally not inviting someone to a party and making everyone aware that they were not invited. This bullying type is also difficult to identify. Bullies that practice social/relational bullying work hard to make their behavior appear accidental and unintentional. 

Bullies want to feel powerful because they feel weak and submissive in other areas of their life. They choose targets that they deem to be weaker and unable to advocate for themselves.