Essay on problem of bullying
Today, the problem of bullying is one of the most challenging problems, especially in school environment. Moreover, today, bullying goes online and victims of bullying turn out to be pursued virtually everywhere. In such a situation, legislators attempt to struggle against bullying introduced stricter measures to the extent that cases of bullying may be reported to the police. However, such measures can hardly be effective, unless the problem of bullying is solved through the close cooperation between children, educators, parents, and psychologists.
In fact, the problem of bullying is widely-spread and affects many children at school, while the emergence of online bullying make children vulnerable to bullying even when they are not at school. Bullying have different forms but online or cyber bullying is progressing now because children are using cell phones and internet for bullying purposes. The use of cell phones and internet for bullying puts victims of bullying in an unbearable position because they cannot avoid the pressure from the part of bullies anywhere (Hu, 2012). In the past, they could escape bullying being at home or outside the direct reach of bullies. Today, modern media make victims vulnerable to bullying virtually anywhere and anytime. Such enormous pressure can provoke a deep depression in victims of bullying.
At the same time, traditionally bullying persists too. Children interact with each other closely. Naturally, they may face the problem of bullying when some children attempt to bully others. Some children are capable to resist to bullying and they can protect themselves from bullies (Juvonen and Graham, 1233). However, some children cannot resist to bullying and they become victims of bullies (Juvonen and Graham, 1234).
In this regard, the major causes of bullying are dating-related issues and intolerant attitude of children to each other (Kristof, 2012). For instance, often children are intolerant in relation to children, who are different from them. For instance, a different accent may be a cause of bulling. Dating is also an important issue that may and does provoke bullying, especially among teens (McCabe, 2010).
Effects of bullying may be disastrous for the personality of victims of bullying (Cook, 36). For instance, cases of suicide are not rare in the result of bullying (McCabe, 2010). At the same time, bullying is always negative for victims because bullying leads to the development of negative psychological effects (Kirves and Sajaniemi, 385). In this regard, the low self-esteem and the permanent exposure of victims to stressors increase the risk of development of depression and other serious psychological problems.
However, it is not only victims of bullying but also bullies themselves, who suffer from bullying. Bullies develop anti-social models of behavior and they believe their behavior is normal (Szalavitz, 89). As a result, they may extrapolate their negative models of behavior on their relations with their family members as they grow up. In such a situation, bullies may face considerable problems with their socialization and integration in the normal social life.
Obviously, parents want their children to be protected from bullying. In response to the public opinion, the school authorities and legislators attempt to introduce changes in school and public policies to prevent bullying (Hu, 2011). As a rule, all these policies aim at punishing bullies and restriction of their impact on their victims.
Often parents accuse the school administration of poor management because the school administration and educators fail to prevent bullying (Hu, 2011). However, bullying persists outside school and cyber bullying proves that bullying is not a problem limited to the school environment solely.
Therefore, educators and parents should unite their efforts to cope with bullying (Szalavitz, 88). In such a situation, educators may need the assistance from the part of professional psychologists. In difficult cases the assistance of social workers may be needed.
Punitive measures along cannot solve the problem (Davis and Nixon, 2011). At this point, it is important to understand that punitive measures are not always effective. Instead, educators, psychologists, legislators and school administration along parents should focus on the work with both bullies and their victims. In fact, bullying is not the mere problem of bullies and their victim. This is a social and cultural problem of the entire society. This is why the solution of this problem may be found in the work of educators, parents and psychologists with bullies and their victims. Bullies should learn positive models of behavior, while victims should learn conflict management strategies that can help them to defend in case of bullying.
The problem of bullying should be prevented through the development of educational programs which teach children to respect each other and to develop positive models of behavior (Szalavitz, 88). Conflict management programs can also help to tackle the problem of bullying.
Bullies and their victims should share their problems with their parents, educators and psychologists. They may work in groups consisting of psychologists and educators as well as parents. Together, they can solve the problem and prevent cases of bullying in the future. Other students should take pro-active position in cases of bullying. They should interfere in conflicts and suppress any attempt of bullying or, at least, report any manifestation of bullying to the school administration.
