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BULLYING

Date:  2021

From: Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection

Publisher: Gale, a Cengage Company

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Overview

In the United States, the definition of bullying has expanded beyond traditional notions of a bigger, stronger child picking on a smaller, weaker victim and typically includes four key elements. The first part of the definition now includes significant physical, emotional, or psychological harm to the victim. The second is the inability of the victim to stop the bully on his or her own. The third is a power imbalance in which the bully holds more emotional, physical, or social influence than the victim. The last is repetitive actions committed by the bully that continue for an extended period. Bullying can occur in virtually any interpersonal setting. While it affects young people as well as adults, the issue is primarily...
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In the United States, the definition of bullying has expanded beyond traditional notions of a bigger, stronger child picking on a smaller, weaker victim and typically includes four key elements. The first part of the definition now includes significant physical, emotional, or psychological harm to the victim.

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Bullying Statistics
Source: Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics

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Bullying

Question:
How many students are bullied at school?

In 2017, about 20 percent of students ages 12-18 reported being bullied at school during the school year. Of students ages 12-18, about 13 percent reported being the subject of rumors; 13 percent reported being made fun of, called names, or insulted; 5 percent reported being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on; and 5 percent reported being excluded from activities on purpose. Additionally, 4 percent of students reported being threatened with harm, 2 percent reported that others tried to make them do things they did not want to do, and 1 percent reported that their property was destroyed by others on purpose.
Percentage of students ages 12-18 who reported being bullied at school during the school year, by type of bullying and sex: 2017
NOTE: "At school" includes in the school building, on school property, on a school bus, and going to and from school. Students who reported experiencing more than one type of bullying at school were counted only once in the total for students bullied at school.

In 2017, a higher percentage of female students than of male students ages 12-18 reported being bullied at school during the school year (24 vs. 17 percent). There were also differences in selected types of bullying by sex. A higher percentage of female students than of male students reported being the subject of rumors (18 vs. 9 percent); being made fun of, called names, or insulted (16 vs. 10 percent); and being excluded from activities on purpose (7 vs. 3 percent). In contrast, a higher percentage of male students than of female students reported being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on (6 vs. 4 percent).

Overall, of students ages 12-18, higher percentages of students of Two or more races, Black students, and White students (23 percent each) than of Hispanic students (16 percent) and Asian students (7 percent) reported being bullied at school during the school year in 2017. In addition, higher percentages of American Indian/Alaska Native students (27 percent) and Hispanic students than of Asian students reported being bullied at school. The percentages of students who reported being the subject of rumors and being made fun of, called names, or insulted were both higher for Black students and White students than for Hispanic students and Asian students. The percentages were also higher for students of Two or more races and Hispanic students than for Asian students.

Higher percentages of students in each grade from 6 through 8 than of students in each grade from 9 through 12 reported being bullied at school during the school year. In 2017, about 29 percent of 6th-graders, 25 percent of 8th-graders, and 24 percent of 7th-graders reported being bullied at school, compared with 19 percent each of 9th- and 10th-graders, 15 percent of 11th-graders, and 12 percent of 12th-graders. In addition, a higher percentage of 9th-graders than of 11th- and 12th-graders and a higher percentage of 10th-graders than of 12th-graders reported being bullied at school.

In 2017, a higher percentage of students ages 12-18 in rural areas (27 percent) than of students in suburban areas (20 percent) and urban areas (18 percent) reported being bullied at school during the school year. A higher percentage of students in rural areas than of students in suburban areas reported being the subject of rumors (19 vs. 13 percent); being made fun of, called names, or insulted (16 vs. 13 percent); and being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on (8 vs. 5 percent). In addition, a higher percentage of students in rural areas than of students in urban areas reported being the subject of rumors (19 vs. 11 percent) and being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on (8 vs. 5 percent). There was no measurable difference between the percentages of public and private school students who reported being bullied at school, either overall or by specific types of bullying.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2020). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2019 (NCES 2020-063), Indicator 10.

Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)

2020, Digest of Education Statistics 2019, Table 230.65. Percentage of public schools reporting selected types of cyberbullying problems occurring at school or away from school at least once a week, by selected school characteristics: 2017–18

2020, The Condition of Education 2020: School Crime and Safety

2019, Digest of Education Statistics 2018, Table 230.40. Percentage of students ages 12–18 who reported being bullied at school during the school year, by selected student and school characteristics: Selected years, 2005 through 2017

2019, Digest of Education Statistics 2018, Table 230.45. Percentage of students ages 12–18 who reported being bullied at school during the school year, by type of bullying and selected student and school characteristics: Selected years, 2005 through 2017

2019, Digest of Education Statistics 2018, Table 230.50. Percentage of students ages 12–18 who reported being bullied at school during the school year and, among bullied students, percentage who reported being bullied in various locations, by selected student and school characteristics: 2017

2019, Digest of Education Statistics 2018, Table 230.55. Percentage of students in grades 9–12 who reported having been electronically bullied during the previous 12 months, by selected student characteristics: Selected years, 2011 through 2017

2019, Digest of Education Statistics 2018, Table 230.60. Among students ages 12-18 who reported being bullied at school during the school year, percentage reporting various frequencies of bullying and the notification of an adult at school, by selected student and school characteristics: 2017

2019, Digest of Education Statistics 2018, Table 230.62. Percentage of public school students in grades 9-12 who reported having been bullied on school property or electronically bullied during the previous 12 months, by state or jurisdiction: Selected years, 2009 through 2017

Other Resources: (Listed by Release Date)

2020, Crime and Safety Surveys (CSS): This site provides access to publications and data on school crime and safety.

2020, School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS): This survey collects information on crime and safety from U.S. public school principals.

2019, Cyberbullying and Cell Phone Policy in U.S. Primary and Secondary Schools

2019, Electronic Bullying: Online and by Text

2019, NCES Blog: New Data Show Growth in Online Bullying

2019, NCES Blog: New Data Support Connection Between Hate-Related Words, Fear, Avoidance, and Absenteeism

2019, Student Reports of Bullying: Results From the 2017 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey

2019, Student Victimization in U.S. Schools: Results From the 2017 School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey

2019, Students' Perceptions of Bullying

2018, Changes in Bullying Victimization and Hate-Related Words at School Since 2007

2018, Repetition and Power Imbalance in Bullying Victimization at School

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education statistics questions and answers

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Question: How many students are bullied at school? In 2017, about 20 percent of students ages 12-18 reported being bullied at school during the school year. Of students ages 12-18, about 13 percent reported being the subject of rumors; 13 percent reported being made fun of, called names, or insulted; 5 percent reported being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on; and 5 percent reported being excluded from activities on purpose.

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Look out for signs of bullying in your child
Authors: Haziq, Saman

Source:Khaleej Time. 05/05/2019.

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The impact of bullying on mental health
Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth)

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Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

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There has been a lot of conversation in the media lately about bullying and the damaging impact it can have on mental health. Bullying is defined as the unwanted, aggressive behavior that presents in an engagement with another individual or individuals that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. Thinking back, most people can probably identify a time when they experienced bullying and how it made them feel. Bullying happens everywhere: schools, workplace, friend groups, online, and it's important to remember it does not just happen to children.

With the technological world that we have moved in to, access to bullying has grown significantly. Cyberbullying, which refers to being bullied online or through digital devices and can happen through text messages, social media apps, gaming chats and platforms, and pretty much anywhere people view and share content. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, data shows that an estimated 15.7% of high school students were electronically bullied in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Just because many of us are going to school or working from home doesn't mean the bullying has stopped. The pandemic has led to youth being connected significantly more than before to their digital devices. For some, digital contact has been the only way they have communicated within the past year. L1ght, an organization that tracks online harassment, is reporting that cyberbullying has increased 70% in just the past few months.

The effects of bullying have serious and lasting negative impacts on our mental health and overall wellbeing. Bullying can cause feelings of rejection, exclusion, isolation, low self-esteem, and some individuals can develop depression and anxiety as a result. In some cases it can even develop into Acute Stress Disorder or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Research has shown that being a victim of bullying can lead to longer term impacts including interpersonal violence, substance use, sexual violence, poor social functioning, and poor performance. Even witnessing bullying can impact one's wellbeing.

Being bullied at a young age can affect someone well past childhood and can cause lifelong psychological damage. During these young years, children are identifying roles, developing personalities, and figuring out who they are. When a young person is bullied, it can lead to problems with trust in others, self-esteem, and anger. It can be hard to develop relationships with others at an older age when you may not have had any at a younger age. When we're repeatedly presented with blows about who we are or what we are doing, we create a poor self-image and expect that others see us in the same light.

Bullying often leaves us with lingering feelings, turning into anger towards others or ourselves. When one goes through bullying over a long period of time, they may begin to blame themselves for being bullied. Thinking thoughts such as "If I wasn't so ugly, people would leave me alone," or "If I tried harder, people wouldn't make fun of me." The types of thoughts can change how we see and feel about ourselves and leave long-term impacts.

If you are a parent to a digital teen and you are working from home, you are spending more time than ever with your children. We have a great opportunity to be mindful of what our youth are doing online and how these interactions with others may be affecting them. Create rules on internet use that limits screen time. This can be challenging, since those of us working from home are stuck to screens all day, but these rules can help create a balance around positive, healthy social time and engaging in other activities that make them less likely to engage in cyberbullying. Allow youth to stay connected with others through positive engagement, such as Facetime or weekly Zoom chats that can help balance connectivity. It is very difficult for children and teens to not be connected to others, as these connections are necessary for growth and development. Have open communication and ensure your children know they can talk to you about what is going on in their lives.

If you are concerned that you or your child are experiencing lingering feelings from the results of bullying, it may be helpful to connect with a mental health professional to identify concerns and negative thinking patterns that may still be present. The STOMP Out Bullying HelpChat Line is a free confidential online chat that helps youth ages 13-24 with issues around bullying and cyberbullying. If you are interested in reading about bullying statistics here is a great resource: Pacer's National Bullying Prevention Center

Written by: Meaghan Warner, LCSW-S

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The impact of bullying on mental health - Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

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There has been a lot of conversation in the media lately about bullying and the damaging impact it can have on mental health. Bullying is defined as the unwanted, aggressive behavior that presents in an engagement with another individual or...

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Should Bullies Be Expelled?

Source: Scholastic Choices. Apr2019, Vol. 34 Issue 7, p2-5. 4p.

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The resources in Discus South Carolina's Virtual Library are made available to state residents. Please enter the current Discus username and password. If you need assistance, contact your local library or media center. You may also contact the Discus Office: (803) 545-0201 or DiscusOffice@statelibrary.sc.gov

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The resources in Discus South Carolina's Virtual Library are made available to state residents. Please enter the current Discus username and password. If you need assistance, contact your local library or media center. You may also contact the Discus Office: (803) 545-0201 or DiscusOffice@statelibrary.sc.gov

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How Bad Is Online Harassment?

Author: Cathy Young

Date:  Apr. 2020

From: Reason(Vol. 51, Issue 11)

Publisher: Reason Foundation

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Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that involves the use of electronic media to put down, harass, or threaten a victim. It shares many common characteristics with traditional idea of bullying. These traits include the deliberate, repeated targeting of a victim. Another characteristic is the end goal of shaming, intimidating, or humiliating a victim. The intent to cause harm or push a victim into doing something against his or her will or better judgment may also be involved.

Cyberbullying differs from traditional bullying in the ways perpetrators bully their victims. Traditional bullying takes place through direct contact. Cyberbullying takes place online through electronic and digital media.

Cyberbullying has created ethical and legal issues. Cyberbullying mostly affects adolescents and teens. School administrators generally admit some responsibility in protecting victims. However, most cyberbullying occurs outside school hours. It takes place through media over which schools have no authority or control. Therefore, using school policies to discipline perpetrators can be difficult. Yet many schools have put new policies in place specifically to address cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying carries criminal penalties in most of the United States. However, the nature of online communication can also make it challenging to prove the perpetrator's identity. There are many ways for cyberbullies to hide their identity, including anonymous email addresses and fake social media accounts. Many cyberbullies go unpunished, even when authorities are reasonably certain of their identity.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported in 2019 that more than 15 percent of high school students who were bullied had been cyberbullied. A 2018 Pew Research Center survey concluded that 60 percent of girls and 59 percent of boys had experienced abuse online.

Fast Facts

Cyberbullying Tools and Methods

Cyberbullying can take place in nearly any digital environment. Social networking and content-sharing platforms have all seen increased levels of cyberbullying behavior. These platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and YouTube.

Video game users often gather in virtual online spaces during gaming sessions. Competition can make cyberbullying more likely or intense.

Victims can also be targeted through other digital applications. These include including email, text messaging, and instant messaging. Smartphone apps that have connectivity features also can be used to cyberbully.

Cyberbullies target victims through both overt and covert means. Overt forms include mocking and shaming victims. Name-calling and threatening victims are also overt forms. Covert forms include isolating or excluding victims from joining or participating in online games, chats, or forums.

Other cyberbullying tactics include sharing messages, images, audio recordings, or videos that are meant to embarrass or belittle the victim. Another is pretending to be the victim online to harm his or her friendships, relationships, reputation, or social standing. Cyberbullies may also stalk their victims.

Perpetrators may also take advantage of the emotional vulnerability of their victims through catfishing. This involves taking on a fake online identity. Perpetrators use the fake identity to pull the victim into a dangerous or hurtful situation.

Risks and Effects

Researchers have studied how and why people become bullies. Children who become bullies frequently come from homes with low levels of parental investment. They may struggle to follow rules and show aggressive tendencies. They may become frustrated easily. They may be part of a social group that actively bullies others. It is also fairly common for bullies to have been bullied themselves or the victims of other types of abuse.

Children are more likely to be bullied if they are different from their peers in some way. Other risk indicators include low self-esteem and anxiety. Depression and social isolation are also risk indicators.

Cyberbullying can take a serious toll on victims. Consequences may include declining academic performance. Another might be tension and conflict with siblings or parents. A third might be engaging in risky, illegal, or self-destructive behavior.

Over the long term, victims of cyberbullying can be at increased risk of anxiety and depression. In severe cases, victims are at greater risk of self-harm. In severe cases, young people have attempted or committed suicide because of cyberbullying.

Response and Prevention at School and Home

There are a variety of people involved in trying to address cyberbullying. Many schools have created policies specifically designed to address cyberbullying. Also, all US states have updated their definitions of criminal harassment to include cyberbullying or cover cyberbullying in specific laws.

Parents are expected to support victims. Parents are also expected to work with schools and the authorities to report and try to prevent cyberbullying. Experts urge parents to watch their children for cyberbullying warning signs. Parents are also encouraged to make sure their children have clear rules for using smartphones and social media.

If cyberbullying occurs, victims should avoid making the situation worse. They should begin documenting the activity. Victims and their parents are encouraged to report continued bullying to school administrators or law enforcement officials.

Schools have created specific response strategies. There are a range of interventions that depend on the nature of each case. These interventions range from conflict resolution mediation to involving the police. However, schools may not have many options if the cyberbullying takes place outside of school.

Words to Know

Laws and National Initiatives

Federal laws addressing cyberstalking require that perpetrators travel across state lines intending to continue their harassing behaviors. Additionally, interstate communications cannot be prosecuted unless they contain a threat to kidnap or physically harm the victim.

All US states have laws in place that punish cyberbullying or electronic harassment. All states except Montana also have laws that require public schools to create formal guidelines for identifying and intervening in cases of bullying. One shortcoming of these laws is that over thirty states do not legally allow school policies to extend to off-campus settings when students are involved.

In 2018, First Lady Melania Trump introduced her Be Best initiative. The program includes a social media component. It focuses on raising awareness about cyberbullying issues. Additionally, the program also teaches children positive behaviors early in life so they can be better able to safely use Internet resources.

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Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that involves the use of electronic media to put down, harass, or threaten a victim. It shares many common characteristics with traditional idea of bullying. These traits include the deliberate, repeated targeting of a victim. Another characteristic is the end goal of shaming, intimidating, or humiliating a victim.

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Bullying and Cyberbullying
Source: Medline Plus, National Library of Medicine

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What is bullying?

Bullying is when a person or group repeatedly harms someone on purpose. It can be physical, social, and/or verbal. It is harmful to both the victims and the bullies, and it always involves:

Aggressive behavior.

A difference in power, meaning that the victim is weaker or is seen as weaker. For example, bullies may try to use physical strength, embarrassing information, or popularity to harm others.

Repetition, meaning it happens more than once or that it probably will happen again

What are the types of bullying?

There are three types of bullying:

Physical bullying involves hurting a person's body or belongings. Examples include hitting, kicking, and stealing or breaking someone's stuff.

Social bullying (also called relational bullying) hurts someone's reputation or relationships. Some examples are spreading rumors, embarrassing someone in public, and making someone feel left out.

Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean things, including name-calling, taunting, and threatening

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is bullying that happens through text messages or online. It could be through emails, social media, forums, or gaming. Some examples are:

Posting rumors on social media

Sharing embarrassing pictures or videos online

Sharing someone else's private information online (doxing)

Making threats against someone online

Creating fake accounts and posting information to embarrass someone

Certain types of cyberbullying can be illegal. The laws on cyberbullying are different from state to state.

How is cyberbullying different from bullying?

Cyberbullying is a type of bullying, but there are some differences between the two. Cyberbullying can be:

Anonymous - people can hide their identities when they are online or using a cell phone

Persistent - people can send messages instantly, at any time of the day or night

Permanent - a lot of electronic communication is permanent and public, unless it's reported and removed. A bad online reputation can affect getting into college, getting a job, and other areas of life. This applies to the bully as well.

Hard to notice - teachers and parents may not overhear or see cyberbullying taking place

Which children are more likely to be bullied?

Children are more likely to be bullied if they:

Are seen as different from their peers, such as being overweight or underweight, dressing differently, or being of a different race/ethnicity

Are seen as weak

Have depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem

Don't have many friends or are less popular

Don't socialize well with others

Have an intellectual or developmental disability

Which children are more likely to be bullies?

There are two types of children who are more likely to bully others:

Children who are well-connected to peers, have social power, are overly worried about popularity, and like to be in charge of others

Children who are more isolated from peers, may be depressed or anxious, have low self-esteem, are easily pressured by peers, and have trouble understanding other people's feelings

There are certain factors that make someone more likely to be a bully. They include:

Being aggressive or easily frustrated

Having trouble at home, such as violence or bullying in the home or having uninvolved parents

Having trouble following rules

Seeing violence positively

Having friends who bully others

What are the effects of bullying?

Bullying is a serious problem that causes harm. And it doesn't just hurt the person who is being bullied; it can also be harmful for the bullies and for any kids who witness the bullying.

Kids who are bullied can have problems at school and with their mental and physical health. They are at risk for:

Depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. These problems sometimes last into adulthood.

Health complaints, including headaches and stomachaches

Lower grades and test scores

Missing and dropping out of school

Kids who bully others have a higher risk for substance use, problems in school, and violence later in life.

Kids who witness bullying are more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol and have mental health problems. They may also miss or skip school.

What are the signs of being bullied?

Often, kids who are being bullied don't report it. They may fear a backlash from the bully, or they may think that no one cares. Sometimes they feel too ashamed to talk about it. So it is important to know the signs of a bullying problem:

Depression, loneliness, or anxiety

Low self-esteem

Headaches, stomachaches, or poor eating habits

Disliking school, not wanting to go to school, or getting worse grades than before

Self-destructive behaviors, such as running away from home, harming themselves, or talking about suicide

Unexplained injuries

Lost or destroyed clothing, books, electronics, or jewelry

Trouble sleeping or frequent nightmares

Sudden loss of friends or avoidance of social situations

How do you help someone who is being bullied?

To help a child who is being bullied, support the child and address the bullying behavior:

Listen and focus on the child. Learn what's been going on and show you want to help.

Assure the child that bullying is not his/her fault

Know that kids who are bullied may struggle with talking about it. Consider referring them to a school counselor, psychologist, or other mental health service.

Give advice about what to do. This may involve role-playing and thinking through how the child might react if the bullying occurs again.

Work together to resolve the situation and protect the bullied child. The child, parents, and school or organization should be part of the solution.

Follow up. Bullying may not end overnight. Make sure that the child knows that you are committed to making it stop.

Make sure that the bully knows that his or her behavior is wrong and harms others

Show kids that bullying is taken seriously. Make it clear to everyone that the bullying will not be tolerated.

Department of Health and Human Services

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Bullying is when a person or group repeatedly harms someone on purpose. Cyberbullying is bullying that happens through text messages or online. Both can cause lasting harm. Learn the signs of bullying, and how to help a child who is being bullied.

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Bullying: It's Not OK
Source: healthychildren.org, American Academy of Pediatrics

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​​Bullying is when one child picks on another child again and again. Usually, children who are being bullied are either weaker or smaller, as well as shy, and generally feel helpless. Some kids are at higher risk of being bullied, such as those with disabilities or other special health care needs and those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

Bullying occurs when there is an imbalance of power. Sometimes children argue with each other or make bad choices in their behavior, which is not bullying.

Cyberbullying takes place on electronic media, using things like social media sites, texting, chat rooms, or instant messaging. Cyberbullying can happen any time-day or night-and is visible to many more people than traditional bullying. It's ver​y hard to undo or hide what the child who is cyberbullying has done.

Facts about bullying

Both girls and boys can be bullies.

A child can be both the bully and the victim.

Bullies target children who cry, get mad, or easily give in to them.

The 3 types of bullying

Physical-hitting, kicking, pushing, choking, punching

Verbal-threatening, taunting, teasing, hate speech (This can also include electronic messaging)

Social-excluding victims from activities or starting rumors about them

Bullying happens​...

At school, when teachers are not there to see what is going on

When adults are not watching-going to and from school, on the playground, or in the neighborhood

​Through electronic methods, such as social networks, texting, and instant messaging

Common traits of b​​ullies and victims

Generally, according to StopBullying.gov​, children who are bullied have one or more of the following risk factors:

Are seen as different from their peers, such as being overweight or underweight, wearing glasses or different clothing, being new to a school, or not having what kids consider "cool"

Are seen as weak or unable to defend themselves

Are less "popular" than others and have few friends

Do not get along well with others, are seen as annoying or provoking, or provoke others for attention

Those who bully others do not need to be stronger or bigger than those they bully. Often, these students require support to change their behavior and address other challenges that may be influencing their behavior. Children who bully may have more than one of the following characteristics:

Are aggressive or easily frustrated

Have less parental involvement

Have issues at home

Think badly of others

Have difficulty following rules

View violence in a positive way

​Have friends who bully others

Effects of bul​lying

Children who experience any kind of bullying-including cyberbullying-can experience long-term effects, even into adulthood. Bullying can have consequences for both the bully and the victim, who

Have a higher risk of substance use

Are more likely to skip or drop out of school

Can have health complications

Have poor school performance

​Experience depression or other mental health challenges

Talk with your child about bullying

Even if you don't think your child is bullied, a bully, or a bystander, you will be helping protect your child just by asking these questions.

How are things going at school?

What do you think of other kids in your class?

Does anyone get picked on or bullied?

What is lunchtime like? (or recess)

​Is anyone texting, tweeting, or posting mean things on social networks?

Help your child r​esist bullying

You cannot always help your child avoid all bullying, but you can help him build coping skills to deal with difficult situations. Spend time with your child, show him love and encouragement, and model good behavior toward others. Talk through difficult situations with your child so he knows he can trust you with his problems.

When your child is ​bullied

It can be upsetting to find out your child has been bullied. Let her know you are there for her, willing to listen, and taking action to make sure it doesn't continue. Here are some things you can do.

Help your child learn how to respond. For example, "Let's talk about what you can do and say if this happens again."

For many children, these skills do not come naturally. It is like learning a new language-lots of practice is needed. Practice so, in the heat of the moment, these skills will come to your child naturally.

Teach your child when and how to ask for help. Your child should not be afraid to ask an adult for help when bullying happens. Since some children are embarrassed about being bullied, parents need to let their children know being bullied is not their fault.

Encourage your child to make friends with other children. There are many adult-supervised groups, in and out of school, that your child can join. Invite your child's friends over to your home.

Support activities that interest your child. By participating in activities such as team sports, music groups, or social clubs, your child will develop new abilities and social skills. When children feel good about how they relate to others, they are less likely to be picked on.

Alert school officials to the problems, and work with them on solutions. Since bullying often happens outside the classroom, talk with the principal, guidance counselor, or playground monitors, as well as your child's teachers. Write down and report all bullying, including cyberbullying, to your child's school. By knowing when and where the bullying occurs, you and your child can better plan what to do if it happens again.

When your c​​hild is the bully

No parents want to think their child would bully a​nother child, but it does happen and parents must be ready to respond. If you know your child is bullying someone, take it very seriously.
Now is the time​​ when you can change your child's behavior.
In the long run, bullies continue to have problems. These often get worse. If the bullying behavior is allowed to continue, these children often become adults who are much less successful in their work and family lives and may even get in trouble with the law.

Help your child understand what bullying is and why it is a problem. Help your child understand how bullying hurts other children. Give real examples of the good and bad results of your child's actions.

Set firm and consistent limits on your child's aggressive or hurtful behavior. Be sure your child knows that bullying is never OK.

Be a positive role model. Children need to develop new and constructive ways for getting what they want. All children can learn to treat others with respect.

Use effective, nonphysical discipline, such as loss of privileges. When your child needs discipline, explain why the behavior was wrong and how your child can change it.

Find positive ways to stop bullying with the school principal, teachers, counselors, and parents of the children your child has bullied,

Supervise your child and help develop individual skills and interests. Children with too much "time on their hands" are more likely to find themselves in bad situations.

Supervise their time online, and monitor what sites they are visiting. Require them to friend you on social media sites and share their passwords with you.

​Ask for help. If you find it difficult to change the behavior, reach out to a professional, like a teacher, counselor, or your child's pediatrician.

When your child​ is a bystander

Most children are neither bullied nor bu​​llies- they just watch. There are things your child can do to help stop bullying.

Don't give bullying an audience. Often, those who bully are encouraged by the attention they receive from bystanders. Children can help stop bullying by actively not supporting it.

Set a good example.

Help the child who is bullied get away.

Tell a trusted adult. Talking with an adult is not tattling. Standing up for another child by getting help is an act of courage and safety. To make it easier, suggest taking a friend.

​Be a friend. Children can help someone who's been bullied by simply being nice to him. Being friendly can go a long way toward letting him know that he's not alone.

It is important for everyone in the community to work together to build a safe environment for all children. Partner with your child's pediatrician, school district, and local community leaders to create anti-bullying messages and policies. Find more information at StopBullying.gov​.

Adapted from Bullying: It's Not OK, American Academy of Pediatrics, copyright © 2018

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Bullying is when one child picks on another child again and again. Usually children who are being bullied are either weaker or smaller, are shy, and generally feel helpless.

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StopBullying.gov
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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Stop Bullying on the Spot

When adults respond quickly and consistently to bullying behavior they send the message that it is not acceptable. Research shows this can stop bullying behavior over time.

Parents, school staff, and other adults in the community can help kids prevent bullying by talking about it, building a safe school environment, and creating a community-wide bullying prevention strategy.

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StopBullying.gov provides information from various government agencies on bullying, cyberbullying, prevention and response.

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What Are the Best Ways to Prevent Bullying in Schools?
Author: Diana Divecha
Source: Greater Good Magazine. 10/29/2019.

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All 50 U.S. states require schools to have a bullying prevention policy.

But a policy, alone, is not enough. Despite the requirement, there's been a slight uptick in all forms of bullying during the last three years. Bullying can look like experienced basketball players systematically intimidating novice players off the court, kids repeatedly stigmatizing immigrant classmates for their cultural differences, or a middle-school girl suddenly being insulted and excluded by her group of friends.

Bullying occurs everywhere, even in the highest-performing schools, and it is hurtful to everyone involved, from the targets of bullying to the witnesses-and even to bullies themselves. October is National Bullying Prevention Month, so it's a good time to ask ourselves: What are the best practices for preventing bullying in schools? That's a question I explored with my colleague Marc Brackett from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, in a recent paper that reviewed dozens of studies of real-world bullying prevention efforts.

As we discovered, not all approaches to bullying prevention are equally effective. Most bullying prevention programs focus on raising awareness of the problem and administering consequences. But programs that rely on punishment and zero tolerance have not been shown to be effective in the U.S.; and they often disproportionately target students of color. Programs like peer mediation that place responsibility on the children to work out conflicts can increase bullying. (Adult victims of abuse are never asked to "work it out" with their tormentor, and children have an additional legal right to protections due to their developmental status.) Bystander intervention, even among adults, only works for some people-extroverts, empaths, and people with higher social status and moral engagement. Many approaches that educators adopt have not been evaluated through research; instead, educators tend to select programs based on what their colleagues use.

We found two research-tested approaches that show the most promise for reducing bullying (along with other forms of aggression and conflict). They are a positive school climate, and social and emotional learning.

Building a positive school climate

School climate can be difficult to define, though possible to measure. It is the "felt sense" of being in a school, which can arise from a greeting, the way a problem is resolved, or how people work together; it is a school's "heart and soul," its "quality and character." Schools with a positive climate foster healthy development, while a negative school climate is associated with higher rates of student bullying, aggression, victimization, and feeling unsafe.

The elements of a positive climate may vary, but may often include norms about feelings and relationships, power and how it is expressed, and media consumption. Social norm engineering is a conscious process that builds a positive culture among student peers and school adults that becomes self-reinforcing. Like a healthy immune system, a positive school climate promotes optimal health and reduces the chances of dysfunction or disease.

Leadership is key to a positive climate. Is bullying minimized as a "normal rite of childhood," or is it recognized as the harmful peer abuse that it is? Do leaders understand that uninterrupted, severe bullying can confer lifelong negative consequences on targets of bullies, bullies, and witnesses? Are school leaders committed to promoting all children's positive psychological health, or do they over-rely on punishing misbehavior? Can they discern between typical developmental processes that need guidance versus bullying that needs assertive intervention? Are educators empathic to their students, and do they value children's feelings?

Next, are teachers prepared to deal with bullying? Students consistently report that teachers miss most incidents of bullying and fail to help students when asked. A majority of teachers report that they feel unprepared to deal with classroom bullying. Some teachers bully students themselves, or show a lack of empathy toward children who are bullied. Teachers report that they receive little guidance in "classroom management," and sometimes default to the disciplinary strategies they learned in their own families growing up.

However, reforming school climate should involve all stakeholders-students and parents, as well as the administrators and teachers-so a school's specific issues can be addressed, and the flavor of local cultures retained. School climate assessments can be completed periodically to track the impact of improvements.

Advancing social and emotional learning

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is well known, and involves teaching skills of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, responsible decision making, and relationships management. (Full disclosure: Brackett and I are affiliated with the SEL program RULER.)

Evidence-based SEL approaches have been shown to deliver cost-effective, solid results. Numerous meta-analyses, research reviews, and individual studies of hundreds of thousands of K-12 students show that SEL improves emotional well-being, self-regulation, classroom relationships, and kind and helpful behavior among students. It reduces a range of problems like anxiety, emotional distress, and depression; reduces disruptive behaviors like conflicts, aggression, bullying, anger, and hostile attribution bias; and it improves academic achievement, creativity, and leadership.

A study of 36 first-grade teachers showed that when teachers were more emotionally supportive of students, children were less aggressive and had greater behavioral self-control, compared to the use of behavior management, which did not improve student self-control. One meta-analysis showed that developing emotional competence was protective against becoming a victim of bullying; social competence and academic performance were protective against becoming a bully; and positive peer interactions were protective against becoming a bully-victim (one who has been bullied and bullies others). A series of longitudinal studies showed positive effects into midlife (e.g., fewer divorces, less unemployment) and even cross-generational effects of early SEL. Compared to a matched control group, the children of the adults who participated in the Perry Preschool Project had less criminal involvement and higher educational and employment achievement. A cost-benefit analysis of six SEL programs found them to be good investments, with $11 saved for every $1 spent.

Teachers also benefit from SEL. Those with emotional and social skills training have higher job satisfaction and less burnout, show more positive emotions toward their students, manage their classrooms better, and use more strategies that cultivate creativity, choice, and autonomy in their students. Teachers report that they want more SEL support to cultivate their own emotional and social skills, and to better understand their students' feelings. But few teacher training programs focus on growing the teachers' emotion regulation skills.

Bullying at different age levels

SEL approaches should be developmentally wise, since what is salient and possible for children changes at different ages.

For example, preschoolers are expelled from school at the highest rates of all, but the neurological hardware for their self-control is only just developing. Only then are the connections between the emotion circuitry and the more thinking regions of the prefrontal cortex beginning to be myelinated (insulated for faster connectivity), something that will take until the mid 20s to complete. An SEL program like PATHS or RULER that teaches young children language for feelings, and strategies for thinking before acting, can develop better self-regulation.

Sometimes, adults confuse normal developmental processes with bullying. For example, children begin to reorganize their friendships midway through elementary school, something that can naturally create hurt feelings and interpersonal conflict. It should not be misconstrued as bullying, though, which involves intentional, repeated aggression within an imbalance of power. Normal development also includes experimenting with power, and these normal dynamics should be guided safely toward developing a healthy sense of agency, rather than a hurtful exertion of power over someone else.

Finally, the onset of puberty marks the beginning of heightened sensitivity to social relationships, an especially important time to cultivate skills for kinder, gentler relationships. Unfortunately, this is the period when bullying spikes the highest. And while some strategies work well for younger children (for example, advising them to "tell a trusted adult"), this option may fail with teens, and the breakpoint seems to be around the eighth grade. Older teens require approaches that are less didactic and leverage their need for autonomy, while affirming their values and search for meaning. Physiologically, the brain changes during puberty confer a second chance for recalibrating their stress regulation system. That opportunity should be constructively seized.

Approaches should also take into account individual differences between children. Even SEL programs can stumble here, over-relying on just one or two emotion regulation strategies, like breathing or mindfulness. But children vary in their temperaments, sensitivities, strengths, and vulnerabilities. The best SEL approaches guide students toward discovering strategies that work best for them-strategies that are emotion- and context-specific, personalized, and culturally responsive. This approach requires unconventional flexibility on the part of the educators.

And, finally, approaches work best if they are not standalone pedagogies or from kits that end up in the classroom closet at the end of the year. In order to be effective, skills should become fully embedded across the curricula and the entire day, in all settings, and implemented by all adults-in other words, infiltrating the ecosystem. Only approaches used and taught as intended are successful.

Schools can't do this alone

Families matter, too. Bullying in schools sometimes arises from harsh parenting practices or sibling bullying at home.

Even parents' workplaces matter. Adults experience bullying in their workplaces at about the same rate as children in schools, and it's even found among teachers and in senior living communities. In other words, bullying is not just a childhood problem; it is a pervasive human problem. And children are not buffered from the wider social world-bullying of children who belong to groups targeted in the national political discourse has spiked on playgrounds nationwide.

Ultimately, we need a substantial shift in our mindsets about the importance of children and their feelings. Children are more likely to thrive when we nurture their humanity, and offer them language and strategies and values to help them identify, express, and, thus, regulate their feelings. When parents, teachers, and administrators gain new awareness into the complex roots of bullying and adopt new strategies for addressing it, schools can lead the way. The kids are counting on us.

Greater Good wants to know: Do you think this article will influence your opinions or behavior?

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What Are the Best Ways to Prevent Bullying in Schools?

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A new study identifies the most effective approaches to bullying prevention.

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Stories about Bullying
Source: PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center

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LIKE US

The non profit FSA Performing Arts Program at The Ethical Community Charter School in Jersey City, NJ (TECCS) has a mission to provide performing arts related experiences and opportunities to all interested students after school no matter their family economics. A project of important note is the development of a live action short film titled LIKE US. It is a film for kids, by kids. The screenplay was written by ten students in grades 6-8 over a period of 10 weeks. During some very honest and courageous writing sessions students shared painful truths about bullying that have become very important to the story. During the writing sessions one student shared he was bullied so badly he left his previous school for a fresh start at TECCS. LIKE US, can be seen this September and shows how a group of five students overcome the intimidation and intolerable cruelty by some of their peers. The director is Professional Educator and Television host Kris Van Nest, also Executive Producer of the online media network THISLEARNING®. Assistant Director, Ann E. Wallace, is a published poet and Associate Professor of English at New Jersey City University. The project was produced by Middle schoolers and a growing group of volunteer parents lead by Kim Correro.
Like Us Film Synopsis
The Shooting Star Youth Challenge is coming to town, and Cory, Fatin, Lana, Astrid, and Trevor have each been unable to find a team. In a chance meeting in the school office, the Principal asks the group of outcasts-rejected for their gender identity, disability, and personalities-to band together for the competition. Some of the students are not too happy to be forced onto a team of kids that no one else wants, and, believing the terrible things that other kids say about them, they are sure they will lose. They soon learn, however, that each one has a special talent and that the C Flats, as they have decided to call themselves, are a real contender. But as the big day approaches, the team members are shaken by comments made online and in person about them. Together they rebuild their confidence and are ready to compete. However, they soon learn that Lana has been facing a much larger challenge than shooting a basket or nailing a standup comedy routine, when, in a moment of desperation, she confides that she is homeless. Faced with a difficult dilemma, the team must decide where to put its efforts, on making it to States or on helping their friend against her wishes. When the group steps up to help their new friend, serendipitously aided by a group of stagehands who spread the news about Lana online, we see that what makes these kids winners are not the skills they bring to Shooting Star but the size of their hearts.

Read the article in March's Macaroni Kid magazine, Film Program Teaches Kids More Than Just Film Making
Instagram: @fsaperformingarts
Facebook: @fsaperformngarts
#LIKEUSMovie

By: KC

Musical Group, Dat Stern, Creates Music to Inspire

Twin brothers, Stacy and Sterling, decided to start a music group called Dat Stern; they wanted to make music that could inspire people and help others. Stacy states, "My brother and I suffered from bullying all throughout middle and high school. So, when we decided to make music, that was our main focus. Our goal is to put an end to bullying."

Stacy remembers a bullying situation in 6th grade when a note he had written was passed around to all the classmates. "They all laughed and made fun of me. I felt so humiliated, but it didn't end there. I was picked on and bullied for the rest of the school year in that class." Both brothers experienced bullying that affected them into adulthood, being called names such as ugly, loser, and alien. Neither could understand why people were so cruel. Stacy says, "We suffered a lot from bullying through the years, and words are not enough to describe how bad it made us feel. No one deserves to be bullied. I repeat, NO ONE."

As they got older, Stacy and Sterling decided that using their music and writing songs to send a message about bullying could inspire and help people. Together they have written two songs about bullying "Help Me," and "Take a Stand," in order to help raise awareness and end bullying. The brothers believe, "We have to take a stand and do something about it. It takes action. Many people witness bullying, and they just sit there and watch. They do nothing to help the kid that is being bullied. THIS HAS TO STOP. If you see someone being bullied, stand up for them, and help them. Standing there and doing nothing doesn't help the situation at all."

Stacy is thankful that his parents were there to listen and help him. The twins want people to know that asking for help is ok. "Don't be afraid to let others know about the bullying issue. We are willing to stand with you and stop the bullying. Just reach out for help!"

Discussion questions
Help Me Lyrics

By: PACER

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Riders Against Bullying

What happens when one person cares? They can change someone's life.

John Carter, a self-described "biker against bullying" has been encouraging students to sign the pledge to be together against bullying-and united for kindness, acceptance and inclusion. He also shows what a difference it makes when adults get involved in positive ways. John shared this story about the photo, "the young man in the red shorts and black shirt has autism. I saw the other kids bullying him, so I went out and spoke with all of them. I explained about autism and talked about the differences we all have. I asked how they felt when they get picked on. I then explained to them that each of us has feelings and how much it hurts to not be included. I told them everyone wants to be accepted and to have someone to play with. The group ended up playing together all night."

By: Anonymous

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Personal experience inspires music video

"Imma Listen" is a music video created by Taylor Zank. The inspiration to create the project came from his personal experience. The video briefly portrays the life of Simmie, a student dealing with a rough emotional situation, both at home and at school. After being bullied by other kids, the student tries to talk to his father about the difficulty he is experiencing, but his father isn't willing to hear about it and brushes him off. The following day, a teacher notices Simmie in the hallway looking obviously distraught and takes the time to pull him aside and figure out what's going on. After having a chance to express what he was going through to an adult figure and talk it out with the teacher, Simmie returns to school with a newfound confidence, and uses what he learned from the situation to help another student who is dealing with a similar experience. The video is meant to compel adults and students alike to reach out to those that we notice are clearly dealing with something, even if we don't know them, and let them know that we are there for them and that they are not alone.

Discussion questions accompany this video.

By: Anonymous

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Genius Hour

During her senior year of high school, Addison participated in a project called Genius Hour. The idea was for each student to select a topic of their choice, research it, and then develop a presentation, video, or product. Addison chose the topic of bullying, an issue that has personally affected her since elementary school. Addison made posters that displayed facts and statistics about bullying. She posted these resources in her classroom hoping to draw awareness to this common issue. Throughout the semester, she continued to research the effects of bullying, ultimately showing just how much it impacts students around the world. At the end of the semester, she presented her speech in which she spoke from the heart.

Addison shared, "I genuinely hope that I changed the way my classmates view bullying and how to treat people, as well as for anyone who views this video. I really enjoyed this project and I aim to continue to raise awareness for bullying and for all the targets that suffer from it. They deserve to be heard and supported, and I am determined to be one person who stands up for them. I hope people learn to realize that we should accept one another for who they are, because that is another thing that I realized when doing this project- everyone is different, yet everyone should be respected. It only takes one person to make a difference."

By: Anonymous

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Kindness Makes Miracles

Kindness Makes Miracles was established to promote kindness as a way of life. It was started after the tragic death of Kelly O'Loughlin. Our goal, from the very inception of Kindness Makes Miracles, was to do whatever we can to help others be aware of the devastating and deadly effects of bullying and the incredible healing power of kindness. By living lives of kindness, we enable others and ourselves to reach the fullest potential. Kindness Makes Miracles is a program of the Knights of Columbus Council #844 located in Helena, Montana. Watch our video on Kelly's life. Get involved! Visit our website. #takeastandagainstbullying #kindnessmakesmiracles

By: Christopher Nelson and Kindness Makes Miracles

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Speaking Without Words
Video Credits
Andrew Carroll, Associate Professor of Dance, University of South Florida
Lana Heylock, Assistant Professor of Dance, Jacksonville University
Classroom Discussion Questions
These questions are in direct collaboration to Andrew Carroll's cyberbullying video that supports a worldwide bullying prevention campaign. The discussion questions are designed for a teenage audience. They may be used as additional prompts that accompany the "Speaking Without Words: Be a Peer Advocate. Help Those Being Bullied. We All Have Unique Gifts. End/Delete Cyberbullying" video.

1. Why do you think that the other dancers bully the girl with one arm?
Answers may be that she is "different" or that "she looks different." This is a good place to discuss that we are all different. Our physical appearances are unique, we often have varied interests, come from different types of families, and meet people of different ethnic and social backgrounds every day. The girl with one arm must have incredible strength, focus, and courage to succeed at the same skills that most people are fortunate to do with two arms. She is different and she is amazing! She needs to be supported, encouraged, and applauded. It is "cool" to be there for her and help her if she needs the assistance. It makes you a stronger person!

2. Why do you think it is important to talk about disabilities?
Discussion gives us knowledge. Communication is so important. If we do not understand something, it is more difficult to have empathy and show support. When we understand the situation of a person with a disability, we can walk in their shoes and understand that all people have the right to pursue their dreams, find happiness, and acceptance.

3. Do you think that people with physical disabilities can achieve success in sports and dance?
YES! There are many awesome athletes and dancers who have overcome their physical disabilities to be successful professionals. Here are a few:

Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Abbott was born without a right hand. He won the gold medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics.

Mixed Martial Arts Athlete Kyle Maynard was the first quadruple amputee to climb Mount Kilimanjaro without the aid of prosthetics in 2012.

Surfer Bethany Hamilton's left arm was bitten off by a shark in 2003. She went on to earn first place at the National Scholastic Surfing Association Competition two years later.

AXIS Dance Company, REVolutions Dance, and Dancing Wheels are examples of professional dance companies that employ dancers in wheelchairs and on crutches.

4. What was one significant event in the video?
It took only one girl to be a peer advocate and change the bullying environment. All the characters learned mutual respect and acceptance by the end. In fact, we saw the girl with a disability reach out and catch her stumbling new friend. It makes us realize that kindness and friendship do not require two arms and legs. We all have the same needs and wants. We need to care for one another and appreciate the many unique physical conditions in the world.

By: Andrew Carroll, Lana Heylock

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Young Student Leads a Movement!

Thirteen-year-old Mai Mishan is committed to creating a world without bullying! In her third year of promoting National Bullying Prevention Month in October, Mai organized two significant events for 2017.

On Saturday, October 21, Mai held a Charity Ride at Soul Cycle in Calabasas, Calif., to raise funds for PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center. The studio was vibrant in orange, the signature color of bullying prevention, with orange balloons and graphics and all participants received the official orange "Create a World Without Bullying" shirt. Mai's mother, Michal also promoted the event with online Facebook fundraising; the donations received far exceeded the projected goal.

Mai followed up the fundraiser on Unity Day, October 25, by leading a school-wide coordination of Unity Day events involving every student and teacher at her school of 1200+ students. To promote participation, Mai wrote personal notes to key faculty, sharing why the day is so important. She handed out posters and flyers to display all over the campus. School administration supported Mai's efforts by sending out a mailer to parents, encouraging their involvement. On the day of the event, EVERYONE on the four campuses wore orange! The principal, Mai and other students spoke at an assembly as well. Students also showed their support by creating links of positive statements on orange paper about how they would unite for kindness, acceptance and inclusion, creating an orange chain around the campus.

As a result of Mai's influential leadership, Unity Day is now an annual official date on the school calendar. "We so appreciated Mai's initiative and positive energy in making this happen," wrote a school administrator.

By: PACER Center Staff

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Cyberbullying Dance
We are more alike than we think
A cyberbullying awareness video illustrating the necessity to end and delete cyberbullying message because "we are all more alike than we think." The video was produced with the generous permission of incredible musical artist James Paget for use of "The Hero Within." The short video highlights the story of an athlete who initially cyberbullies a ballet dancer not realizing they are similar athletes, just with different skill sets. This becomes apparent, and the athlete chooses to end and delete the cyberbullying.

Video and discussion questions by Andrew Carroll, The University of South Florida and Lana Heylock, Jacksonville University
Classroom Discussion Questions

1. What similarities did you notice between the dancer and the athlete?

2. Describe how athletes and dancers each practice to become good at what they do.

3. Describe the traditional "uniform" of the dancer and of the basketball player.

4. Why do you think each sport has its own style of attire?

5. Do you think that dancers are athletes? Why or why not?

6. How can you be a better advocate to stop cyber bullying?

Helpful tips, ideas, and conversation starters to foster greater dialogue during classroom discussion

1. What similarities did you notice between the dancer and the athlete?

Has anyone here ever danced? What about played a sport? Can you both tell me about the skills you need to perform?

Are you surprised to find out that there are many similarities between the two? Similarities include hard work, focus, lots of skills to practice, physical activity, and valuable teamwork. Teamwork examples include: A ballet has a corps de ballet which must work perfectly in unison so that the audience can understand the story, a dance duet must work harmoniously or someone will fall or be dropped, dancers must negotiate the stage so they do not bump into each other. Similarly, a basketball team must know their play and pass the ball correctly, a basketball player must be alert to see how to execute the basket, and basketball players must find their paths on the court between many other bodies in their way. They both consider awesome skills and the use of energy, timing, and space.

2. Describe how athletes and dancers each practice to become good at what they do.
Can an athlete and dancer in the class tell me what they do to warm up and practice? They practice A LOT!!! If they do not practice they will not be very good. They have skills that most people do not have naturally. Most athletes practice during a specific season, whereas, a dancer practices all year long. Both professions have rather short terms...professional athletes and professional dancers are usually fairly young...(in their 20's and 30's).

3. Describe the traditional "uniform" of the dancer and of the basketball player.

Think about sports and activities you play. What do you wear for that?

What about for other sports: football, cycling, swimming, wrestling, baseball, etc? There are typical uniforms for dancers and basketball players. Dancers wear specific shoes, such as pointe dance shoes, soft dance shoes, and tap shoes. Basketball athletes wear sneakers. Dancers wear tight clothing, and football players, gymnasts, wrestlers, cyclists, and swimmers wear tight clothing, too. Basketball players wear loose fitted clothing and jerseys.

4. Why do you think each sport has its own style of attire?
Have several students in the class identify a sport/activity they are involved with and explain what they wear and why they wear it. Each sport has its own style of attire to help athletes accomplish their skills and goals. Dancers use specific shoes that include pointe shoes for women to appear longer and have the ability to turn effortlessly, soft shoes help spin and feel the ground, tap shoes accentuate rhythms and jazz shoes cushion landings and help with sliding. Basketball athletes need sneakers to help them move swiftly across the court. Their shoes provide important support and cushioning when running and landing from dunking the basket. Dancers wear tight clothing in rehearsal in order to see correct alignment and form. Likewise, football players and gymnasts wear tight clothing so they can move effectively. It would be dangerous to wear baggy clothes that they could trip on or get tangled in. Professional swimmers wear tight Speedos to help them move fast. Basketball players wear loose fitted clothing made of wicking material so they can move freely and have faster drying and cooling in their jerseys. Dancers and athletes have figured out what clothing helps them be the best they can be at what they do.

5. Do you think that dancers are athletes? Why or why not?

Do you think you can do the spins and jumps like you saw the dancer do in the video?

What would you need to do in order to do the dance moves? Dancers are elite athletes with many skills that involve endurance, coordination, stretch, and strength. Some athletes, execute their plays on the court with the grace, strength, and agility of a dancer. Oftentimes dancers and athletes cross-train. Many dancers work out in the gym with weights and machines and many athletes have been known to take yoga and dance lessons to help their bodies increase coordination and stretch. Dancers and athletes are more alike than we previously may have thought. Firstly, they are human with the same feelings and often the same pursuit of excellence. Dancers and athletes should be admired equally. They show us incredible physical feats and help us strive toward setting personal goals of excellence. The world appreciates the storytelling and beauty of dance and the fierce competiveness and spirit of athletics. Our communities are enriched by arts and sports!

6. How can you be a better advocate to stop cyber bullying?

If you're being cyberbullied, what are things you can do to stop the cyberbullying? What about things that would make the cyberbullying worse?

If you see cyberbullying, what are things you can do to help? What would be unhelpful?

Knowledge is power! Stop wrong information, speak up, and support what you know is important in our schools, cities, and country. Be strong, be smart and always be kind.

If you're being cyberbullied, here are steps you can take to help end it:

Know that you do not deserve what is happening

Document the hurtful online content - take screen shots of and print hurtful content

"Unfriend" or block the person bullying you online

Remove/untag yourself from hurtful comments or picture

Report the hurtful content to the website where it occurred

Tell a trusted adult about what's happening so you can think through options to end the cyberbullying

If you're being cyberbullied, doing these things can make the situation worse:

Ignore it and hope that it stops - this usually doesn't work in the long run or fix the problem

Avoid the person cyberbullying -you'll soon see how hard it is to avoid someone who goes to the same school with you

Respond aggressively - this can make it look like you're part of the problem, too

If you see cyberbullying, here are steps you can take to help end it:

Do not "like" or forward hurtful online content

Report the content to the site where it occurred

Send a supportive message to the person being cyberbullied

If it feels safe to do, you can also tell the person bullying that what they are doing is not okay.

If you see cyberbullying, doing these things can make the situation worse:

"Liking" and forwarding hurtful online content - you're contributing to the problem too

Ask the person being bullied what they did to start the bullying and telling them it's their fault

By: Video and discussion questions by Andrew Carroll, The University of South Florida and Lana Heylock, Jacksonville University

By: Anonymous

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Using her story as her power

"Take a look at your quirks and your traumas and find your own greatness."

Sherry Saturno is a national award-winning social worker and filmmaker, who wrote and produced a short documentary film about what drives professionals to help others titled "Human Investment." The foundation for much of her work came from her personal experience of being bullied as a child, which she spoke about in a recent TEDx Talk.

"I was bullied for many years," Saturno said in an email to PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center. "I am not ashamed of an experience that happened to me and neither should others be. Our stories and our struggles make us uniquely who we are, but too often, out of shame or fear, we silence the very narrative that is the foundation of our strength.

"As an adult, I recognize how those years shaped my character," she continued. "I began to use adversity as motivation, and every time someone told me that I couldn't accomplish something, that would make me try that much harder. Adversity can be transformed into something beautiful and hardship can create ambition, not just to achieve professional goals, but to chase after your own happiness and build the life that you want for yourself."

Sherry was deeply affected by stories she heard about how kids who were experiencing bullying were struggling; she understood how isolating the experience can be. By creating a TEDx Talk and talking openly about bullying, isolation, and rejection, she shares her message about how her experiences shaped her character, her motivation, and how she could help others. "Use rejection as your fuel," she says. "Your story, the source of your struggle, is your power."

By: Anonymous

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LIKE US - National Bullying Prevention Center - Stories

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The non profit FSA Performing Arts Program at The Ethical Community Charter School in Jersey City, NJ (TECCS) has a mission to provide performing arts related experiences and opportunities to all interested students after school no matter their family economics. A project of important note is the development of a live action short film titled LIKE US.

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Bullying Solutions for All Ages
Source: Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International

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Bullying Solutions for All Ages

Bullying Solutions for All Ages

Most bullying, including adult-to-adult bullying, can be stopped or prevented when everyone involved learns and uses core social-emotional safety skills. We teach:

Social-emotional safety skills to be safe from bullying and cyberbullying at all ages

Safety leadership strategies for adults to ensure that everyone in their homes, schools, and workplaces is safe from bullying and harassment

Positive intervention and coaching skills to guide those using bullying behaviors to replace them with pro-social behaviors.

We provide tailored support for dealing with specific types of bullying such as social aggression, cyberbullying, adult-to-adult bullying, and prejudice-based bullying and harm.

See Kidpower answers to common questions - and use the suggested resources and books to protect children from bullying.

Our Online Learning Center courses include lessons you can use right now to build your own skills and empower others.

To explore workshop options, see our Programs for Schools, our Workshops page - or just contact us!

FAQs: Kidpower Answers to Common Questions about Bullying Prevention

Bullying seems to be prevalent everywhere. Can it be stopped, or even better, prevented?

Most harm caused by bullying is PREVENTABLE!
Our article Face Bullying with Confidence: 8 Kidpower skills we can use right away have helped to prepare countless people of all ages and abilities to prevent and stop bullying. Whether you are a parent, educator, or other caring adult, you can coach young people to practice these bullying prevention skills to protect them from most bullying, increase their confidence, and help them develop positive peer relationships. Whether you are a parent, educator, or other caring adult, when you are coaching someone to practice safety skills, this individual is your student and you are their teacher.

What is bullying?

Bullying is when a person or group deliberately tries to make someone else feel upset, scared, or ashamed. People often bully others who have any difference of behavior, appearance, culture, race, class, ability, or identity.
The technical definition of bullying is, "a repeated oppression, psychological or physical, of a less powerful person by a more powerful person or group of persons." Bullying is different from aggression between people of equal power. However, someone can have less power than others for many reasons - being shy; being different in any way; lacking confidence; having problems at home; having a disability; being of a minority race or religion; being a high achiever; or lacking physical strength. In addition, even one unresolved incident of feeling personally attacked can cause lasting upset even if it does not fit the technical definition of bullying.

Bullying takes many different forms, including: physical threats or violence; name-calling and teasing; mocking; shunning and ostracism; and social attacks on someone's reputation. People can bully others directly, in person; indirectly, such as by gossiping or 'badmouthing' by voice to others; or through any form of communication technology, including talking on the phone, writing, texting, emailing, recording, and in gaming environments. Bullying behavior occurs in schools, sports, youth groups, work places, social groups, recreational camps, senior centers, and online activities. Bullying can happen anywhere people gather, either in the real world or the virtual world. Bullying takes place between people of all ages, identities, and walks of life.
Young people who are being bullied are especially likely to feel trapped and alone because they usually don't have a choice about where they live, go to school, or play.

What is the difference between bullying and normal conflict between peers?

Conflict is a normal part of most relationships because people have different perspectives and priorities. While kids need adult supervision so that they learn how to deal with conflict constructively, most upsetting behavior between people is NOT bullying. People can also be hurtful to each other because of thoughtlessness, annoyance, poor boundaries, and experimenting with negative uses of their power without realizing the impact.

The good news is that the social-emotional skills that can prevent and stop most bullying and harassment are also important in developing healthy relationships. Learning how to take charge of their own emotional and physical safety; how to act safely and respectfully towards others even if they feel frustrated or upset; how to set boundaries and respect the boundaries of others; and how to advocate effectively to help others, empowers most people and gives them tools to better manage future conflicts and relationship issues.
The bottom line is that everyone has the right to be treated with respect, and the responsibility to act respectfully towards themselves and others.

How do I help protect the young people in my life from bullying?

Children and teens need consistent, repeated messages from their parents, teachers, principals, coaches, recreation leaders, and other caring adults that,
"I want you to be and feel safe. Being safe means freedom from harm to your body and your feelings. Your job is to speak up if someone is saying or doing something that is hurtful to you - and to get help from the adults in charge if that doesn't work. I also want you to act safely and respectfully towards others. Your job is to stay in charge of what you say and do so that you are not being harmful or scary, even if you feel really annoyed, scared, or upset. You can be powerful in protecting yourself and respectful at the same time. If you have trouble at school or anywhere else, I want you to tell me."
What you do is even more important than what you say. Model being powerful and respectful while setting boundaries to advocate for and protect the well being of yourself and others - and while noticing and honoring the boundaries of others. Show how some boundaries need to be negotiated. Ask kids to tell you what bullying is - and whether they have ever seen anyone being bullied. Discuss when characters in books or movies are bullying or being victimized by bullying.

Pay attention and intervene when you see kids acting in hurtful or disrespectful ways towards each other with the same intention that you would stop young people from throwing rocks through a window. If we don't respond when kids are being unkind or unsafe, we are not walking our talk.

Interrupting and redirecting harmful behavior can be as simple as saying, "Excuse me! That sounds hurtful/doesn't look safe! What's going on?" You can then have kids practice how to communicate in ways that meet your values.

Discuss the Kidpower Protection Promise with every child and teen in your care so that they know that they can come to you for help. From time to time, ask the young people in your life, "Is there anything you've been wondering or worrying about that you haven't told me?"

What should children and teens do if someone tries to bully them, in person or online?

Give young people opportunities to practice being powerful, respectful, and persistent when using these skills:

Using their awareness to notice a problem situation and move out of reach, either in person or online.

Telling someone to stop hurtful behavior.

Asking to join a game, conversation, or other activity in a friendly, confident way.

Leaving and finding someone else to hang out with.

Protecting their feelings from hurtful words or behaviors.

Interrupting busy adults and being persistent in asking for help with a safety problem.

Make sure that children know that most adults want them to be safe at school and at recreational activities, and will listen if they understand the problem. See our articles:

What should children and teens do if they see another kid being bullied?

If young people witness bullying, their wisest choices are going to depend on the situation - they can speak up, reach out, and/or leave to get help.

Suppose the person doing the bullying is being unkind by leaving another kid out or by calling names. Give kids practice speaking up while staying polite and confident with statements like:

"Stop! That seems like a hurtful thing to say."

"Wait! The rule here is that everybody gets to play!"

"Hi! What's going on?"

"Hey! That's not cool!"

Show how to persist respectfully if someone reacts negatively. Discuss recognizing bullying online and point out that "liking" or sharing hurtful messages is participating in bullying.

If kids don't feel safe or able to speak up, their wisest choice is usually to leave and get help. Suppose someone is being threatening or physically unsafe by hitting, kicking, tripping, or shoving. Give kids practice in how to leave right away and interrupt a busy adult to get help. Encourage kids to reach out to someone who has been bullied by offering support, giving an invitation to join an activity, or sitting together.

Young people can have a huge impact and be safer themselves if they know that any unsafe behavior on the Internet is an important time to get adult help. One of our Kidpower Teens, "Laura", asked her mother for help because an online "friend" in a chat group was writing despairing comments about life not being worth living. With her mother's guidance, Laura told this girl that feeling this was not safe and encouraged her to call the Suicide Prevention Hotline. The next day the girl wrote to Laura that she had talked to a counselor there for a very long time. Although she didn't have clear answers yet, this girl was on the path to getting the kind of help she needed. See Suicide Prevention Success Story: The Opposite of Cyberbullying.

What should I do if I am worried that my child is being bullied?

First, take a breath! Stay calm no matter how you feel inside. You will be more successful in dealing with the problem, and your child will be more likely to give you accurate information, if you sound caring rather than upset or anxious. If your child tells you about a problem, thank your child for letting you know. If you've noticed something that your child has not mentioned, bring up the subject in a matter-of-fact way.

Most schools and youth groups are doing a tremendous job with limited resources and truly care about their students. Your job is to advocate for your child in a way that seeks solutions rather than blame.

See Bullying in Schools - 7 Solutions for Parents. Encourage adult leaders to apologize to children who have been bullied and to tell them directly that it is always okay to come to them for help. With better skills and strong support, everyone involved can learn what to do, as well as what to not do. Bullying can cause big problems - and can also create a tremendous opportunity to grow.

What if my child is doing the bullying?

Pushing boundaries and experimenting with negative uses of their power is normal for some young people. With adult guidance, they can learn to redirect this behavior and become positive leaders. Kids who bully need to know that unkind, hurtful behavior is against the rules and to face consistent, age-appropriate consequences. Rather than lecturing, use practice as a management tool to address unsafe, disrespectful behavior.

Look for the reasons underneath your child's bullying behavior and practice skills that can help your child deal with these issues in a safer way. Remember that in a stressful moment, people of any age are more likely to do what they've practiced than what they've been told. Dealing with the disappointment of not getting what you want, having to wait your turn, feeling upset by what someone else said or did, understanding the other person's point of view, and calming down instead of exploding in anger are all skills that can be learned and practiced until they become habits. See Practice as a Management Tool for Unsafe, Disrespectful Behavior.

Do you talk to kids about the steps to take if they feel they are the target of bullying?

YES. In addition to talking, we practice with kids how to find someone to talk with, and how to be persistent in getting help with safety problems from busy adults. We achieve this goal by teaching a combination of safety principles, and just as important, skills, for how to talk about problems with adults they trust.
Kidpower's Founding 'Put Safety First' Principle is:
The safety and well being of a child are more important than anyone's embarrassment, inconvenience, or offense - theirs, ours, or any other person's.
Kidpower's Four Core Boundary Principles are:

1. We each belong to ourselves. Our bodies, our time, our personal space, and our choices - are ours alone.

2. Some things are not a choice (health and safety).

3. Problems should not have to be a secret. Games, touch, and presents someone gives you should not have to be a secret.

4. Tell and keep telling - as many adults as you have to, as many times as you need to - until you get help and your problem stops.

Kidpower's age-appropriate and ability-appropriate social safety skills include, among others: recognizing what is and is not safe; boundary-setting; moving away from trouble; projecting confidence; assertive advocacy; and persisting to get help effectively from adults when you have a Safety Problem of any kind, including possible bullying..

This two-pronged approach of teaching skills together with principles enables us to equip even very young children - as well as people of any age whose cognitive differences make them even more vulnerable to bullying than their peers - with skills they can use to get help if they feel unsafe in a broad range of situations, including in situations involving potential bullying, harassment, abuse, assault, and other violence, without burdening them with graphic details about ongoing bullying or abuse.

Focusing on the bad things that could happen does not make kids safer and can cause upset that can make it harder for kids to take action in the moment to be safe. This is why, in schools, teachers lead fire drill skills practices rather than talking about what happens to people in a fire; at swim facilities, instructors focus on swimming rather than on drowning; and in families, parents focus on the skills of fastening seat belts and looking both ways rather than on explaining what happens to people in car accidents. Similarly, Kidpower focuses on teaching skills that can help children be safer and get help from adults, rather than on talking about the details of possible danger.

Is your staff trained and qualified on how to deal with kids who have been bullied?

Yes. In order to receive and maintain certification, all Kidpower Instructors must consistently demonstrate an understanding of the actions they are expected to take if they believe a child in one of their workshops might be the target of bullying or have been abused.

Kidpower curriculum also includes the following core statement from The Kidpower Book for Caring Adults and the article: Sometimes the People Kids Love Have Problems: What Children DO and DO NOT Need to Know:
"Sometimes the people kids love have problems, and sometimes their problems are so big that they do things that hurt kids or make them uncomfortable. If this happens to you or a friend, it does NOT mean you did anything wrong. It means that the person who did this broke the Safety Rules and that you all need help. The best way to get help is to tell a grown-up you trust and to keep telling until that person or another person does something about it. And it is NEVER too late to tell."
All Kidpower Instructors are trained to support students of any age in getting help with any kind of Safety Problem, or anything that bothers them, from the adults in their lives who are in a position to help and protect that student in an ongoing way.

At least one such adult is always present in a Kidpower workshop that serves minors, because, in Kidpower group workshops, a minimum of one of the group's regular leaders - the lead teacher, counselor, coach, etc. - is required to attend and participate fully in all activities. In workshops serving families, children must be accompanied by at least one of their own parents/guardians/care providers. Kidpower always enthusiastically welcomes parents and other support staff - such as the school aides, counselors, and administrators - to participate in workshops.

Even those Kidpower Instructors who happen to also be counselors, therapists, law enforcement officers, doctors, or lawyers themselves do not take on the role of counselor, therapist, health care provider, or legal advisor in the context of their work as Kidpower Instructors. Kidpower Instructors are highly trained 'people safety' skills teachers who work with groups for short periods to strengthen skills as well as communication between young people and the adults in their lives who can help them. Working within our clear boundaries with participating families and partner agencies is crucial for maintaining safety, respect, and healthy boundaries for all involved.

Here are our recommendations for adults, which have been used by tens of thousands of parents, teachers, and other caring adults in different school districts and organizations: What to Do if a Child Reports Possible Abuse, Bullying, Harassment, or Anything Else That Bothers Them.

Does Kidpower teach about preventing sexual harassment as well as bullying?

Yes. Too often, young people use gender stereotypes and homophobia to make each other miserable.

To stop sexual harassment, adults must set a good example and speak up about behavior that happens in front of them. If we don't say anything, we should not be surprised when young people believe that this behavior is acceptable to us.

Learn more about how Kidpower addresses sexual harassment in our Sexual Abuse Prevention and our Bullying Prevention programs, including stories from real teaching situations and our 8 actions adults can take to prevent and stop sexual harassment of young people in our article: Stopping Sexual Harassment in Schools.

What about cyber-bullying?

Technology provides people who react with bullying behavior with countless efficient and anonymous opportunities for targeting others. We have found that the skills needed to stop bullying behavior online and via social media are the same as in person. When a young person knows how to make Safety Decisions for themselves and use Kidpower's 'People Safety' skills in person, with very little adaptations, they are able to use them in their online activities as well.

In our workshops we focus on in-person skill development while creating clear pathways on how these skills can be use online. See also our articles:
Also see Kidpower's Digital Citizenship and Safety Agreement - including a useful template you can adapt for your use.

Do you share tips with parents and teachers on how to report bullying?

Yes. Kidpower teaches advocacy skills and other skills for taking charge of safety on behalf of yourself and on behalf of loved ones in all kinds of safety situations, including - but not limited to - addressing bullying. We provide parents, teachers, and other caring adults with tools that are highly recommended by mental health experts, public safety officers, and educators for explaining and practicing ways to stay safe or counter bullying behavior that have proven to be clear for children of all ages without putting images in children's minds that might be emotionally unsafe.

As skills teachers, we are not counselors or therapists, nor do we provide legal advice. Rather, we teach effective persistence, advocacy, and help-seeking skills in our workshops. In addition, Kidpower is a community resource accessible to all adults; they are not limited to accessing our resources only in the context of a workshop or of a service contract with a district or agency.

As a community resource, Kidpower offers guidance for parents, teachers, and other youth service professionals in assessing possible avenues for reporting, as many of the adults in our workshops work within structures that delineate pathways for reporting.

Developing the skills to assess those reporting pathways - and to assess the potential risk of moving outside those pathways - enables adults to act more effectively and powerfully as advocates for child safety in all situations, including those involving potential bullying.

Here are our recommendations for adults, which have been used by tens of thousands of parents, teachers, and other caring adults in different school districts and organizations: What to Do if a Child Reports Possible Abuse, Bullying, Harassment, or Anything Else That Bothers Them.

We also provide ongoing education about bullying prevention actions for parents, teachers, and other caring adults who sign up for our newsletters, visit our Online Resource Library, or email us.

What can I do to protect my child from bullying and other kinds of violence?

1) Make SURE you know what is happening with your kids - who are the people with them? What are they doing? Where are they going?

2) Put Safety First - ahead of embarrassment, inconvenience, offense, fame, or fortune. Take action when a young person comes to you for help or when you suspect that there might be a problem. See our article about what to do when a child comes to you for help.

3) Make SURE kids know you CARE. Discuss the Kidpower Protection Promise with every child that you are in a position to support. Watch our 1 minute video, print out our free posters, and listen when kids come to you with their problems.

4) Teach kids not to keep unsafe secrets. The Kidpower Safety Rule is that problems should not be a secret, any kind of touch should not be a secret, presents someone gives you should not be a secret, friendships should not be a secret, and activities or favors should not be a secret.

5) Teach Kidpower skills for setting boundaries, recognizing and leaving an unsafe situation, resisting emotional coercion, and being persistent in getting help.

Does Kidpower help adults help kids who have experienced bullying, abuse, or other violence?

Yes. As a nonprofit organization, Kidpower is a community based resource available to all adults committed to protecting young people.

We serve not only schools and school districts but also all kinds of businesses, social service agencies, clubs, preschools, camps, and other groups as well as individual parents, counselors, teachers, coaches, therapists, and others seeking guidance in how to protect young people in their care, including those who have or may have experienced bullying.

Providing guidance in advocacy and youth protection skills to adults - including parents as well as professionals in education, health, and social services - for helping kids in their lives who have been bullied is the most effective means through which Kidpower helps kids who have experienced bullying, abuse, violence, and other trauma.

We have a number of success stories about children who tell an adult they trust about bullying after a Kidpower workshop. Because adults are prepared to respond effectively, children are given support - and action was taken, resulting in the children being protected from further harm. See also our article: 5 Recommendations to Help a Child Recover From Severe Bullying.

We offer many paths to youth protection advocacy knowledge and skills for adults, including private consultation, organizational staff training, our parent/child workshops, our workshops for teens, our annual 3-day Child Protection Institute, and Kidpower's Comprehensive Program and Instructor Training; and of course, our many books, comics, curriculum lessons, and training manuals, including our #1 bestselling book: Doing Right by Our Kids: Protecting Child Safety at All Levels.

"We're concerned about whether teachers find that learning the curriculum feels like yet another task for them." Do you ever get that sort of feedback?

We have had great feedback from those adults that are implementing the Kidpower skills in their schools and organizations. We have heard the feedback that teachers are already have too much to cover and they don't have room for one more thing. However, because we have so many options, adaptations and ways to practice these skills, including our Safety Minutes, which are 5 minute lessons, those same teachers soon learned that it was actually very easy to incorporate them into their daily activities. And because so many of the practices help with behavior issues and transition issues within the classroom, implementing these skills will actually save time and frustration overall.

For example, we had one elementary teacher who said she had no time for anything else in class. We asked her, "What is the most frustrating part of your day in the classroom?" She answered, "Transitions from one activity to the next, such as reading to recess, PE or lunch."

We asked if we could have 10 minutes to show how we would practice this with the class and how to use our safety signals in the transitions. By the end of the 10 minutes, transitions that used to take 5 or more minutes, we had down to 30 seconds. The kids had a blast practicing and trying to beat their time each practice. We taught them: Awareness power, Mouth Closed power, Hands Down power, and Line Up power, and used these as our cues to the students for what we wanted them to do. The teacher was so impressed she immediately started using these skills and reported a couple months later that she has so much more time now and is not drained at the end of the day from these transitions. In addition, the kids are doing so well with their skills that they are able to handle many peer interaction situations on their own in a positive way and not have to ask the teacher every single time someone does something they do not like. They only go to her when they have tried on their own and need help or if it is a Safety Problem. This would be one of the many things we would cover with teachers and staff at a professional training and would really help to get "buy in" from them on the program.

What resources does Kidpower have to offer?

Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International (Kidpower) is a leading global nonprofit dedicated to providing empowering and effective child protection, positive communication, and personal safety skills for all ages and abilities. Since 1989, Kidpower has protected more than 8 million children, teens, and adults, including those with special needs, from child abuse, bullying, sexual assault, and other emotional and physical violence through our workshops, partnerships, and educational resources.

Learn more about:

See these resources pages:

RelationSafe Publications, offering low-cost engaging and comprehensive books, comics, lesson plans, curriculum, and training manuals for adults who want to teach People Safety Skills to the young people in their lives.

For example, the Kidpower Safety Comics series provides age-appropriate and entertaining and useful tools to introduce and discuss People Safety Skills with young children, youth, teens and young adults - including how to be safe with peers, known adults, and strangers.

Kidpower provides in-person and long-distance training and consultation to schools, organizations, and individuals from all over the world.

Walk in Another's Shoes: Teens Speak Out about Bullying

This moving, 5-minute video was created by the Teen Advisory Board of Kidpower of Colorado Springs to inspire all teens and adults to take action. Seeing the faces and hearing the voices of these exceptional young people stating what bullying is and the impact it has had on their lives is tremendously powerful.
Watch the video>>

Bullying Prevention: ABC News Interview

ABC News, View From the Bay
Irene van der Zande, Kidpower's Founder and Executive Director, talking about Bullying prevention on the ABC News show, View from the Bay.
Watch the video>>

Digital Citizenship: Kidpower Shorts - Episode 2

The second installment of the Kidpower Shorts series focuses on an increasingly important topic - digital citizenship. Most of us are spending a lot more time online working, learning, and socializing, and practicing good digital citizenship can help everyone have a better time on the internet!
Watch the video>>

The #1 best-selling guide to Child Safety in the #MeToo era. Practical tools for adults to take charge of the safety and well being of the young people in their care, and to address the obstacles that often get in the way.
Learn More | Buy on Amazon
Your Amazon purchases help Kidpower!

"Doing Right by Our Kids is a field guide for practicing courage. It will arm you with the knowledge and skills you need to know when, why, and how to act to protect your kids."
- Dan Heath, New York Times Bestselling Author

8 Kidpower Skills to Stop Bullying! - Bookmark

Kidpower Safety & Respect Poster to Help Prevent Bullying (PDF)

Learn Kidpower from the experts! Options include:

Online, self-paced courses with captioned videos and more in the Kidpower Online Learning Center

Online, live 'community' workshops open for public enrollment - see Workshops

Online, live 'organized' workshops arranged by and for your own group, gathered virtually or physically - presented by a virtual instructor (in-person instruction is paused)

Every workshop is unique! In the planning stage, we listen and ask questions about your needs and priorities. Then, we provide a service tailored just for you. Read more about our most popular workshops for bullying prevention - and contact us to explore options for yours!

For teams of health & human services providers and educators

All kinds of schools and health, recreational, health care, and social service agencies and groups arrange Kidpower Professional Development Programs for:

full staff

volunteers

team members within a staff who do similar work or who work with the same clients, customers, consumers, students, or patients

paraprofessionals, aides, and support staff

Each is tailored to the needs of the group. Common priorities include bullying prevention; abuse prevention; safe and inclusive climate; skills for safe, strong relationships; and safety for people with special needs. US$1900-up. Contact us to discuss Kidpower Professional Development options for your agency, school, or facility!

For parents and guardians

Parentpower Programs are tailored based on your group's priorities. Any adult can take the lead in organizing a program for any type of group such as an informal group of friends; a support and advocacy group; a school or district; a business; or a community based organization. Your adults-only Parentpower Program can be:

taught in English, Spanish, or French by an instructor skilled at working with interpreters

open to all adults your online platform will allow - up to 95 if using Kidpower's Zoom

presented in 1 or 2 parts of 1-2 hours each, US$950-up

Contact us to explore Parentpower options for your group!

For families

Familypower Programs give young people side-by-side with their parents, caregivers, or other adult allies an opportunity to have fun learning safety together! Each Familypower Program is tailored to youth participants' ages and life situations as well as your priorities. Familypower Programs serve 10-50 families/screens (max varies based on youth ages) and can be:

taught in English, Spanish, or French by an instructor skilled at working with interpreters

tailored for youth in the age range you choose, side-by-side with their parents/guardians/adult allies

adapted to meet the needs of learners of diverse abilities

presented in 1 or 2 parts of 1-2 hours each, US$950-up

Contact us to explore Familypower options for your group!

For individual adults

Whether you are seeking skills for your own personal safety and well-being or you are seeking skills to protect and empower others - such as your own children, students, clients, or consumers - you can:

Learn and teach using the videos, skills guides, and other resources in the Online Learning Center courses. Consider starting with the Kidpower Child Protection Training course, the Adapting to Learning Differences course, or the Safety Powers Course, which is free to adults everywhere thanks to generous funding from Ability Central.

Register for one of our upcoming Community Workshops open for public registration. Individual adults can sign up for Fullpower and Parentpower programs, and you are likely to find options addressing topics of interest to you as you parent, teach, or guide others.

Organize a Fullpower Adult Safety workshop for yourself and friends, family members, or others in your life who are interested in learning these skills with you. Sessions can be offered in 1 or 2 parts of 1-2 hours each, US$950-up.

Organize a Kidpower Professional Development Workshop for yourself and others doing similar work. Your workshop could be for co-workers at a single agency - or for people doing similar work but for different agencies in different locations. Each is tailored to the needs of the group. Sessions can be offered in 1 or 2 parts of 1-2 hours each, US$1900-up.

Contact us with any questions about our workshops, resources, or programs for yourself or for a group!

Costs

Self-paced courses in the Kidpower Online Learning Center are priced by course - and some are free! See c urrent self-paced course offerings and costs. Depending on your group and your priorities, live workshops online or in-person (if available in your area) can be:

1-6 hours in length, total

One-time, single-session

Multi-part, 2-12 sessions

Minimum costs for workshops and programs taught live:

US$950-up for parent/caregiver and family workshops

US$950-up for workshops serving a teacher with their class

US$1900-up for professional development programs

Please do not let lack of money stop you from reaching out! Since 1989, we have remained committed to doing all in our power to ensure that money is not the sole factor preventing people from getting access to Kidpower. Costs listed are the costs incurred by Kidpower, and we have an outstanding track record of working with groups to address costs, including by using grant funding secured by Kidpower. Contact us now to talk about your situation! We will tell you the exact cost of the services you are considering.

For teams of health & human services providers and educators

All kinds of schools and health, recreational, health care, and social service agencies and groups arrange Kidpower Professional Development Programs for:

full staff

volunteers

team members within a staff who do similar work or who work with the same clients, customers, consumers, students, or patients

paraprofessionals, aides, and support staff

Each is tailored to the needs of the group. Common priorities include bullying prevention; abuse prevention; safe and inclusive climate; skills for safe, strong relationships; and safety for people with special needs. US$1900-up. Contact us to discuss Kidpower Professional Development options for your agency, school, or facility!

For parents and guardians

Parentpower Programs are tailored based on your group's priorities. Any adult can take the lead in organizing a program for any type of group such as an informal group of friends; a support and advocacy group; a school or district; a business; or a community based organization.

Your adults-only Parentpower Program can be:

taught in English, Spanish, or French by an instructor skilled at working with interpreters

open to all adults your online platform will allow - up to 95 if using Kidpower's Zoom

presented in 1 or 2 parts of 1-2 hours each, US$950-up

Contact us to explore Parentpower options for your group!

For families

Familypower Programs give young people side-by-side with their parents, caregivers, or other adult allies an opportunity to have fun learning safety together! Each Familypower Program is tailored to youth participants' ages and life situations as well as your priorities. Familypower Programs serve 10-50 families/screens (max varies based on youth ages) and can be:

taught in English, Spanish, or French by an instructor skilled at working with interpreters

tailored for youth in the age range you choose, side-by-side with their parents/guardians/adult allies

adapted to meet the needs of learners of diverse abilities

presented in 1 or 2 parts of 1-2 hours each, US$950-up

Contact us to explore Familypower options for your group!

For individual adults

Whether you are seeking skills for your own personal safety and well-being or you are seeking skills to protect and empower others - such as your own children, students, clients, or consumers - you can:

Learn and teach using the videos, skills guides, and other resources in the Online Learning Center courses. Consider starting with the Kidpower Child Protection Training course, the Adapting to Learning Differences course, or the Safety Powers Course, which is free to adults everywhere thanks to generous funding from Ability Central.

Register for one of our upcoming Community Workshops open for public registration. Individual adults can sign up for Fullpower and Parentpower programs, and you are likely to find options addressing topics of interest to you as you parent, teach, or guide others.

Organize a Fullpower Adult Safety workshop for yourself and friends, family members, or others in your life who are interested in learning these skills with you. Sessions can be offered in 1 or 2 parts of 1-2 hours each, US$950-up.

Organize a Kidpower Professional Development Workshop for yourself and others doing similar work. Your workshop could be for co-workers at a single agency - or for people doing similar work but for different agencies in different locations. Each is tailored to the needs of the group. Sessions can be offered in 1 or 2 parts of 1-2 hours each, US$1900-up.

Contact us with any questions about our workshops, resources, or programs for yourself or for a group!

Costs

Self-paced courses in the Kidpower Online Learning Center are priced by course - and some are free! See c urrent self-paced course offerings and costs.

Depending on your group and your priorities, live workshops online or in-person (if available in your area) can be:

1-6 hours in length, total

One-time, single-session

Multi-part, 2-12 sessions

Minimum costs for workshops and programs taught live:

US$950-up for parent/caregiver and family workshops

US$950-up for workshops serving a teacher with their class

US$1900-up for professional development programs

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Bullying Solutions and Resources for Families

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Bullying Solutions for All Ages Bullying Solutions for All Ages Most bullying, including adult-to-adult bullying, can be stopped or prevented when everyone involved learns and uses core social-emotional safety skills.

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Bias Awareness and Bullying Prevention
Author: Priscilla Prutzman.
Source:  The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace. : Oxford University Press. 2010.

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date: 04 January 2022

Bullying refers to any repeated act done with the intention of harming another person physically and/or emotionally. The power imbalance ...

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Cyberbullying in 2021 by Age, Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Race - Cyberbullying Research Center
Author: Sameer Hinduja, October 21, 2021

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In May-June 2021, we collected new data from a nationally representative sample of 2,546 US youth between the ages of 13 and 17 to better understand their positive and negative experiences online. This is the type of research we do on a regular basis, and it helps us to keep our finger on the proverbial pulse of what's going on in the lives of American teens. Even though Cyberbullying has remained an all-too familiar social problem in 2021, statistics show that many families, communities, schools, and other youth-serving organizations continue to grapple with. Indeed, we saw a 40% increase in its incidence since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Definition and Consequences of Cyberbullying

While we formally define cyberbullying as "willful and repeated harm inflicted through computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices," 1:11 the general idea is that it typically involves hurtful, embarrassing, or threatening posts, comments, or messages on social media, gaming platforms, or via text. Over the last fifteen years, research on teens (typically middle and high schoolers) has shown that those who have been cyberbullied - as well as those who cyberbully others - are more likely to struggle academically, emotionally, psychologically, and even behaviorally. ¹⁻⁷ And importantly, we know that youth who belong to underrepresented groups tend to be involved in cyberbullying more so than their peers.

We recently shared that 23.2% of our national sample in 2021 had been cyberbullied in the last month, while 4.9% had cyberbullied others in the last month. Let's now examine how differences in demographics affected these rates to identify whether some subpopulations are more susceptible to victimization and offending than others - and, as a consequence, deserve additional attention and support.

Cyberbullying Statistics in 2021 by Age

First, let's focus on cyberbullying experiences distributed by age. Generally speaking, research has indicated a curvilinear relationship among youth, with the highest participation rates occurring between 12-15 years of age 8, 9 (although some research has found that cyberbullying victimization can continue to increase in late adolescence ¹⁰). In 2021, we found that cyberbullying tends to peak at around 14 and 15 years of age before decreasing through the latter years of adolescence. With social media and gaming platforms technically requiring users to be at least 13 years of age, it is notable that one in four (25.1%) of those very young teenagers have been cyberbullied recently (i.e., in the last 30 days).

With regard to offending, we again see concerning numbers with the youngest age group studied. Here, the highest percentage (6.2%) of youth who cyberbullied others were 13 years of age. The numbers were relatively similar when considering the other age groups studied, but we do see that a de-escalation of participation occurring in later adolescence. This is contrary to other research which has found that cyberbullying perpetration may increase as the teen years progress. ¹⁰⁻¹²

Cyberbullying in 2021 by Gender

Historically, the relationship between gender and cyberbullying has been mixed. Previous research has largely shown that girls are more likely to be bullied at school 13, 14 but is inconclusive differentiating the role of gender when it comes to cyberbullying. 1, 15-18 When looking at the two major genders and their experiences being bullied, we found that 23.7% of girls and 21.9% of boys between the ages of 13 and 17 report being cyberbullied while 35.4% of transgender teens reported being cyberbullied. That said, the numbers of respondents in these subgroups were so small (86 youth out of 2,546 in our sample, or 3%) that we are not able to make any generalizable statements about their experience as a whole.

When considering how gender is related to offending, 5.6% of boys, 4.5% of girls, and 3.6% of transgender youth had cyberbullied someone else in the last 30 days. that This is in keeping with what has historically been found; a recent meta-analysis of 39 articles and 100 effect sizes found that males were more likely to engage in cyberbullying perpetration than females. ¹⁹

Cyberbullying in 2021 by Sexual Orientation

On a regular basis across numerous studies and years, research is clear that those youth who belong to the sexual minority are more likely to experience bullying and cyberbullying than their heterosexual peers. ²⁰⁻²⁵ This was the case in our 2021 sample as well; the rate of cyberbullying victimization among LGBTQ youth was 50% higher than that of non-LGBTQ youth (31.7% v. 21.8%). Since research shows that cyberbullying most often occurs between peers (usually those from school), 17, 26 schools must have policies and programming in place that prohibit bullying based sexual orientation (and, of course, other identity-based characteristics).

In terms of offending, about 72% more LGBTQ youth revealed they had cyberbullied others than non-LGBTQ youth (7.4% v. 4.3%). This is not an uncommon finding in the research, 27, 28 and some explanations center on the earlier finding that sexual minority groups are more likely to be targeted. That is, if one is targeted with some form of cyberbullying, they may see it as normative or necessary behavior. It also could be a form of retaliation, which is a frequent explanation provided by those who admit to bullying others. 29, 30 Overall, however, additional research is necessary to better understand why LGBTQ youth are more likely to participate in cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying Statistics in 2021 by Race

Finally, it is important to also determine if those who belonged to certain racial categories were more likely to experience cyberbullying - or were more likely to cyberbullied others. As a reference point, a review of 15 studies involving cyberbullying and race/ethnicity found a wide range of victimization rates (White: 18-30%; Black: 4-17%; Hispanic: 6-13%) and offending (White: 4-42%; Black: 7-11%; Hispanic 16-18%). ³¹ Among 13-17-year-old youth in the United States, we found that those who were White (25.8%) and those were multi-racial (29.1%) were more susceptible to cyberbullying victimization. The current findings align what has been found in a few studies where Hispanic and Black youth have reported less cyberbullying victimization than their peers. 13, 31

When it comes to offending, those who reported the highest rates of cyberbullying perpetration in the last thirty days classified themselves as "Other" when asked about race (8.3%). Among the remaining categories, those who were multiracial indicated the largest percentage of cyberbullying others (6.2%).

Overall, the way in which certain demographic characteristics differentiate cyberbullying victimization and offending helps us to understand that experience with this problem behavior is not equally distributed across subpopulations of youth. Clearly, some are more susceptible than others and, as a consequence, some require additional supports to preempt their participation in cyberbullying either as targets or aggressors. This might come through more attention, monitoring, dialogue, educational initiatives, mental health provisions, and general awareness building. These findings spotlight the reality that cyberbullying remains a significant social and behavioral issue among teenagers in the United States in 2021, and that we must continue to attend to the vulnerabilities of the youth we serve.
References
1. Hinduja S, Patchin JW. Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying. 2nd ed. Sage Publications; 2015.

2. Hinduja S, Patchin JW. Connecting Adolescent Suicide to the Severity of Bullying and Cyberbullying. Journal of School Violence. 2018:1-14. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2018.1492417

3. Patchin JW, Hinduja S. Bullying Today: Bullet Points and Best Practices. Sage Publications; 2016.

4. Patchin JW, Hinduja S. Traditional and Nontraditional Bullying among Youth: A Test of General Strain Theory. Youth and Society. 2011;43(2):727-751. doi:10.1177/0044118X10366951

5. Hinduja S, Patchin JW. Offline consequences of online victimization: School violence and delinquency. Journal of school violence. 2007;6(3):89-112. doi: https://doi.org/10.1300/J202v06n03_06

6. Kwan I, Dickson K, Richardson M, et al. Cyberbullying and children and young people's mental health: a systematic map of systematic reviews. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 2020;23(2):72-82.

7. Hamm MP, Newton AS, Chisholm A, et al. Prevalence and effect of cyberbullying on children and young people: A scoping review of social media studies. JAMA pediatrics. 2015;169(8):770-777.

8. Kowalski RM, Giumetti GW, Schroeder AN, Lattanner MR. Bullying in the digital age: A critical review and meta-analysis of cyberbullying research among youth. Psychological bulletin. 2014;140(4):1073.

9. Tokunaga RS. Following you home from school: A critical review and synthesis of research on cyberbullying victimization. Computers in human behavior. 2010;26(3):277-287.

10. Pichel R, Foody M, O'Higgins Norman J, Feijóo S, Varela J, Rial A. Bullying, Cyberbullying and the Overlap: What Does Age Have to Do with It? Sustainability. 2021;13(15):8527.

11. Ryoo JH, Wang C, Swearer SM. Examination of the change in latent statuses in bullying behaviors across time. School psychology quarterly. 2015;30(1):105.

12. Garmendia Larrañaga M. Bullying and cyberbullying: Victimisation, harassment, and harm. The need to intervene in the educational centre. Revista Española de Pedagogía. 2019;77(273):295-312. doi: https://doi.org/10.22550/REP77-2-2019-08

13. Pontes NM, Ayres CG, Lewandowski C, Pontes MC. Trends in bullying victimization by gender among US high school students. Research in nursing & health. 2018;41(3):243-251.

14. Salmon S, Turner S, Taillieu T, Fortier J, Afifi TO. Bullying victimization experiences among middle and high school adolescents: Traditional bullying, discriminatory harassment, and cybervictimization. Journal of Adolescence. 2018;63:29-40.

15. Floros GD, Siomos KE, Fisoun V, Dafouli E, Geroukalis D. Adolescent online cyberbullying in Greece: The impact of parental online security practices, bonding, and online impulsiveness. Journal of school health. 2013;83(6):445-453.

16. Schneider SK, O'Donnell L, Stueve A, Coulter RW. Cyberbullying, school bullying, and psychological distress: A regional census of high school students. American journal of public health. 2012;102(1):171-177.

17. Kowalski RM, Limber SP. Electronic Bullying Among Middle School Students. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2007;41:S22-S30. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.08.017

18. Patchin JW, Hinduja S. 2019 Cyberbullying Data. 2019. July 9, 2019. https://cyberbullying.org/2019-cyberbullying-data

19. Sun S, Fan X, Du J. Cyberbullying perpetration: a meta-analysis of gender differences. International Journal of Internet Science. 2016;11(1)

20. Black WW, Fedewa AL, Gonzalez KA. Effects of "Safe School" programs and policies on the social climate for sexual-minority youth: A review of the literature. Journal of LGBT youth. 2012;9(4):321-339.

21. Zych I, Ortega-Ruiz R, Del Rey R. Systematic review of theoretical studies on bullying and cyberbullying: Facts, knowledge, prevention, and intervention. Aggression and violent behavior. 2015;23:1-21.

22. Mennicke A, Geiger E, Brewster M. Interpersonal violence prevention considerations for sexual minority college students: Lower campus connection, worse perceptions of institutional support, and more accurate understandings of sexual consent. Journal of family violence. 2020;35(6):589-601.

23. Cénat JM, Blais M, Hébert M, Lavoie F, Guerrier M. Correlates of bullying in Quebec high school students: The vulnerability of sexual-minority youth. Journal of affective disorders. 2015;183:315-321.

24. Abreu RL, Kenny MC. Cyberbullying and LGBTQ youth: A systematic literature review and recommendations for prevention and intervention. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma. 2018;11(1):81-97.

25. Hinduja S, Patchin JW. Bullying, Cyberbullying, and LGBTQ Students. 2020. https://cyberbullying.org/bullying-cyberbullying-lgbtq

26. Kowalski R, Whittaker E. Cyberbullying via social media. Journal of School Violence. 2014;14:11-29.

27. Duarte C, Pittman SK, Thorsen MM, Cunningham RM, Ranney ML. Correlation of minority status, cyberbullying, and mental health: A cross-sectional study of 1031 adolescents. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma. 2018;11(1):39-48.

28. Llorent VJ, Ortega-Ruiz R, Zych I. Bullying and cyberbullying in minorities: Are they more vulnerable than the majority group? Frontiers in psychology. 2016;7:1507.

29. Camodeca M, Goossens FA. Aggression, social cognitions, anger and sadness in bullies and their victims. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 2004;46:186-197.

30. Gerlsma C, Lugtmeyer V. Offense type as determinant of revenge and forgiveness after victimization: Adolescents' responses to injustice and aggression. Journal of School Violence. 2018;17(1):16-27.

31. Edwards L, Kontostathis AE, Fisher C. Cyberbullying, race/ethnicity and mental health outcomes: A review of the literature. Media and Communication. 2016;4(3):71-78.

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Cyberbullying Statistics 2021 | Age, Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Race

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Provides updated statistics on cyberbullying from a national study on US youth by age, gender, sexual orientation, and race.

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Anti-Bullying Laws and Policies, by US State, as of 2018

Date:  2019

From: Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection

Publisher: Gale, a Cengage Company

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Anti-Bullying Laws and Policies, by US State, as of 2018

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Save documents, citations, and highlights to Google Drive™

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Books on bullying and cyberbullying in the BEHS Library include topic overviews, statistics, and prevention techniques.

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CYBERBULLYING

Date:  2021

From: Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection

Publisher: Gale, a Cengage Company

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Overview

Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that involves the use of electronic media to taunt, harass, or threaten others. It includes the deliberate, repeated targeting of an individual to shame, intimidate, or degrade them and intentionally causing harm or coercing the victim into doing something against their will or better judgment. While traditional bullying occurs through direct contact in a shared physical space such as the classroom or playground, cyberbullying takes place in online spaces or through the use of digital devices. Cyberbullying is similar to but distinct from trolling, which refers to making inflammatory statements online to provoke a response from others. Trolls typically target groups and online communities more often than individuals, usually to garner attention rather than...
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Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that involves the use of electronic media to taunt, harass, or threaten others. It includes the deliberate, repeated targeting of an individual to shame, intimidate, or degrade them and intentionally causing harm or coercing the victim into doing something against their will or better judgment.

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What is Cyberbullying?
Source: The Cybersmile Foundation, 2019.

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What is cyber bullying?

Cyberbullying is used as an umbrella term to describe many different kinds of online abuse including but not limited to harassment, doxing, reputation attacks and revenge porn.

To constitute cyberbullying - the perpetrator uses technology such as computers, consoles, cell phones and/or any other device with access to the internet or social media to harass, stalk or abuse another person by instigating or participating in online hate campaigns. Although most media coverage indicates that cyberbullying is a problem exclusive to social media - it is also very problematic within the online gaming community.

Victims of cyberbullying often don't know who are behind the accounts that are abusing them. Sometimes the victim can suspect who the bullies are, but are unable to prove it because trolling and bullying accounts often make use of everybody's important right to anonymity - other times, complete strangers become aware of cyberbullying taking place and fall into a 'mob mentality' by contributing and amplifying the bullying rather than helping the victim.

Cyberbullying is not exclusive to any specific demographic - everybody is now at risk of being a cyberbullying victim in some way.

Different kinds of cyberbullying

There are many ways that someone can fall victim to or experience cyberbullying when using technology and the internet. Some common methods of cyberbullying are:

Harassment - When someone is being harassed online, they are being subjected to a string of abusive messages or efforts to contact them by one person or a group of people. People can be harassed through social media as well as through their mobile phone (texting and calling) and email. Most of the contact the victim will receive will be of a malicious or threatening nature.

Doxing - Doxing is when an individual or group of people distribute another person's personal information such as their home address, cell phone number or place of work onto social media or public forums without that person's permission to do so. Doxing can cause the victim to feel extremely anxious and it can affect their mental health.

Cyberstalking - Similar to harassment, cyberstalking involves the perpetrator making persistent efforts to gain contact with the victim, however this differs from harassment - more commonly than not, people will cyberstalk another person due to deep feelings towards that person, whether they are positive or negative. Someone who is cyberstalking is more likely to escalate their stalking into the offline world.

Revenge porn - Revenge porn, is when sexually explicit or compromising images of a person have been distributed onto social media or shared on revenge porn specific websites without their permission to do so. Normally, images of this nature are posted by an ex-partner, who does it with the purpose of causing humiliation and damage to their reputation.

Swatting - Swatting is when someone calls emergency responders with claims of dangerous events taking place at an address. People swat others with the intention of causing panic and fear when armed response units arrive at their home or place of work. Swatting is more prevalent within the online gaming community.

Corporate attacks - In the corporate world, attacks can be used to send masses of information to a website in order to take the website down and make it non-functional. Corporate attacks can affect public confidence, damaging businesses reputations and in some instances, force them to collapse.

Account hacking - Cyberbullies can hack into a victim's social media accounts and post abusive or damaging messages. This can be particularly damaging for brands and public figures.

False profiles - Fake social media accounts can be setup with the intention of damaging a person or brand's reputation. This can easily be done by obtaining publicly available images of the victim and making the account appear as authentic as possible.

Slut shaming - Slut shaming is when someone is called out and labelled as a "slut" for something that they have done previously or even just how they dress. This kind of cyberbullying often occurs when someone has been sexting another person and their images or conversations become public. It is seen more commonly within young people and teenagers but anyone can fall victim to being slut shamed.

Why do people cyberbully?

There are many reasons that someone might choose to cyberbully another person. Some of the most common reasons are:

They've been cyberbullied themselves - Someone may choose to cyberbully another person because they have been through cyberbullying themselves. They might feel like it's okay to treat people in that way or find that it is the only way to express their own pain.

To fit in - If someone sees another person being cyberbullied by a group of people, they may feel that by participating, they will 'fit in' or develop a new group of friends themselves.

Home life - The perpetrator may be having a difficult home life and misplace their anger and frustration onto someone else. Most of the time, this will happen when the cyberbully doesn't have anyone to talk to about what they are going through.

Power - Someone may choose to cyberbully in order to feel powerful and have the ability to control a situation.

Jealously - Jealously is one of the most common reasons for cyberbullying, especially for teenagers and young people. Growing up as teenager can be a difficult time as young people are discovering themselves, and they may feel insecure about their appearance. Because they feel insecure, they might compare themselves to their peers which can result in envy based cyberbullying and abuse.

Cyberbullying and video games - Online gaming has grown rapidly over the last few years. This boom has also seen a rise in online players reporting toxicity and abuse when gaming online. Online gamers have the ability to talk to other users through the use of a microphone to chat - this can be used to encourage teamwork, build friendships and improve the overall gaming experience in general. Some players take advantage of this technology and use it to abuse players through verbal abuse or text/messaging abuse.

What to do if you are being cyberbullied

If you are being cyberbullied, it can be easy to think that no one will understand or be able to help you - but that isn't the case. See below for some advice for how to deal with cyberbullying.

Talk to someone - When going through cyberbullying, it is important that you build up a network of support from friends, family and people you can trust. These people will be able to help and support you. Talking to people in times of crisis can not only add a voice of reason or rational thought, it can also help you feel better for being able to share your thoughts and feelings without judgement. If you are a young person or teenager who has fallen victim to cyberbullying, you might want to consider talking to a parent or teacher that you feel you can trust. If the cyberbullying is occurring in school or it is involving people who attend your school, a teacher should be able to help you resolve the issue effectively.

Don't retaliate - When people are cyberbullying others, they are normally doing it for a reaction. If you choose to not retaliate, they will eventually become bored and move on.

Assess the threat - If the cyberbully is sending you messages of a threatening nature or you have reason to be worried about your safety, you should contact law enforcement. They will be able to help you with your immediate safety and give you advice on what to do going forward.

It's important to remember that law enforcement are only there for emergencies and you should only be contacting them if you are in immediate danger or believe your personal safety is at risk.

How do people get cyberbullied?

There are many ways in which someone can be cyberbullied. The majority of hate campaigns take place on social media platforms and through phone calls.

On some social media platforms, you can create pages and secret groups of people. Tools such as these are used to organize hate campaigns.

Cyberbullying statistics

Statistics for cyberbullying and online abuse vary around the world. See below for some recent statistics for cyberbullying and online harassment. Explore our cyberbullying and harassment research section for more in-depth cyberbullying statistics.
PEW Research (U.S.)

41% of Americans have been personally subjected to harassing behavior online.

35% of all adults had experienced some form of online harassment (2014).

62% of U.S. adults say people being harassed or bullied online is a major problem.

70% of women state that online harassment is a major problem.

Cybersmile Research (U.S.)

54.5% of all respondents had seen the most abuse on Facebook.

61.1% of all female respondents had seen the most abuse on Facebook.

35.7% of respondents had seen religion based bullying online.

Nearly 40% of all respondents had seen bullying, harassment or abuse online.

Cybersmile Research (U.K.)

29.6% of respondents aged 25-34 had seen homophobic abuse online.

31.5% of respondents aged 18-24 had seen religion based bullying online.

40.6% of respondents aged 18-24 had seen racist abuse online.

55.1% of all respondents had seen the most online abuse on Facebook.

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Everything you need to know about cyberbullying, harassment and online abuse. Learn exactly what is and isn't cyberbullying.

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Cyberbullying: Identification, Prevention, and Response
Author: Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2020).
Source: Cyberbullying Identification, Prevention, and Response. Cyberbullying Research Center

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Bullying and Cyberbullying
Source: Medline Plus, National Library of Medicine

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What is bullying?

Bullying is when a person or group repeatedly harms someone on purpose. It can be physical, social, and/or verbal. It is harmful to both the victims and the bullies, and it always involves:

Aggressive behavior.

A difference in power, meaning that the victim is weaker or is seen as weaker. For example, bullies may try to use physical strength, embarrassing information, or popularity to harm others.

Repetition, meaning it happens more than once or that it probably will happen again

What are the types of bullying?

There are three types of bullying:

Physical bullying involves hurting a person's body or belongings. Examples include hitting, kicking, and stealing or breaking someone's stuff.

Social bullying (also called relational bullying) hurts someone's reputation or relationships. Some examples are spreading rumors, embarrassing someone in public, and making someone feel left out.

Verbal bullying is saying or writing mean things, including name-calling, taunting, and threatening

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is bullying that happens through text messages or online. It could be through emails, social media, forums, or gaming. Some examples are:

Posting rumors on social media

Sharing embarrassing pictures or videos online

Sharing someone else's private information online (doxing)

Making threats against someone online

Creating fake accounts and posting information to embarrass someone

Certain types of cyberbullying can be illegal. The laws on cyberbullying are different from state to state.

How is cyberbullying different from bullying?

Cyberbullying is a type of bullying, but there are some differences between the two. Cyberbullying can be:

Anonymous - people can hide their identities when they are online or using a cell phone

Persistent - people can send messages instantly, at any time of the day or night

Permanent - a lot of electronic communication is permanent and public, unless it's reported and removed. A bad online reputation can affect getting into college, getting a job, and other areas of life. This applies to the bully as well.

Hard to notice - teachers and parents may not overhear or see cyberbullying taking place

Which children are more likely to be bullied?

Children are more likely to be bullied if they:

Are seen as different from their peers, such as being overweight or underweight, dressing differently, or being of a different race/ethnicity

Are seen as weak

Have depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem

Don't have many friends or are less popular

Don't socialize well with others

Have an intellectual or developmental disability

Which children are more likely to be bullies?

There are two types of children who are more likely to bully others:

Children who are well-connected to peers, have social power, are overly worried about popularity, and like to be in charge of others

Children who are more isolated from peers, may be depressed or anxious, have low self-esteem, are easily pressured by peers, and have trouble understanding other people's feelings

There are certain factors that make someone more likely to be a bully. They include:

Being aggressive or easily frustrated

Having trouble at home, such as violence or bullying in the home or having uninvolved parents

Having trouble following rules

Seeing violence positively

Having friends who bully others

What are the effects of bullying?

Bullying is a serious problem that causes harm. And it doesn't just hurt the person who is being bullied; it can also be harmful for the bullies and for any kids who witness the bullying.

Kids who are bullied can have problems at school and with their mental and physical health. They are at risk for:

Depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. These problems sometimes last into adulthood.

Health complaints, including headaches and stomachaches

Lower grades and test scores

Missing and dropping out of school

Kids who bully others have a higher risk for substance use, problems in school, and violence later in life.

Kids who witness bullying are more likely to abuse drugs or alcohol and have mental health problems. They may also miss or skip school.

What are the signs of being bullied?

Often, kids who are being bullied don't report it. They may fear a backlash from the bully, or they may think that no one cares. Sometimes they feel too ashamed to talk about it. So it is important to know the signs of a bullying problem:

Depression, loneliness, or anxiety

Low self-esteem

Headaches, stomachaches, or poor eating habits

Disliking school, not wanting to go to school, or getting worse grades than before

Self-destructive behaviors, such as running away from home, harming themselves, or talking about suicide

Unexplained injuries

Lost or destroyed clothing, books, electronics, or jewelry

Trouble sleeping or frequent nightmares

Sudden loss of friends or avoidance of social situations

How do you help someone who is being bullied?

To help a child who is being bullied, support the child and address the bullying behavior:

Listen and focus on the child. Learn what's been going on and show you want to help.

Assure the child that bullying is not his/her fault

Know that kids who are bullied may struggle with talking about it. Consider referring them to a school counselor, psychologist, or other mental health service.

Give advice about what to do. This may involve role-playing and thinking through how the child might react if the bullying occurs again.

Work together to resolve the situation and protect the bullied child. The child, parents, and school or organization should be part of the solution.

Follow up. Bullying may not end overnight. Make sure that the child knows that you are committed to making it stop.

Make sure that the bully knows that his or her behavior is wrong and harms others

Show kids that bullying is taken seriously. Make it clear to everyone that the bullying will not be tolerated.

Department of Health and Human Services

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Bullying is when a person or group repeatedly harms someone on purpose. Cyberbullying is bullying that happens through text messages or online. Both can cause lasting harm. Learn the signs of bullying, and how to help a child who is being bullied.

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Fighting, Bullying, and Safety Concerns of High School Students, 2017

Source: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance–United States, 2017, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Bullying Today
Source: YouthTruthSurvey.org

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Bullying has serious consequences. Check out findings from 160,000 students to learn more about the shifting landscape of bullying today.

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Teen Bullies And Their Victims Both Face A Higher Risk Of Suicide
Author: Allison Kodjak
Source: NPR, 6/28/2016.

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Bullying and cyberbullying are major risk factors for teen suicide. And both the bullies and their victims are at risk.

That's according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics that urges pediatricians and family doctors to routinely screen teenagers for suicide risks.

"Pediatricians need to be aware of the problem overall," says Benjamin Shain, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and lead author of the report published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics. "They should be screening for things like mood disorders, substance abuse as well as bullying."

Suicide is the number two cause of death of teenagers, after accidents including car crashes and accidental overdoses. The leading methods of suicide were suffocation and guns.

A CDC survey last year found that 17 percent of teens in high school said they had seriously considered suicide in the previous 12 months, and 2.7 percent had made an attempt that resulted in an injury.

Shain calls those numbers "phenomenal."

The AAP report says there is a clear relationship between bullying and suicide thoughts and attempts.

Suicidal ideation and behavior were increased in victims and bullies and were highest in people who were both bullies and victims of bullying, the report says.

And cyberbullying increased suicide attempts as much as face-to-face bullying.

Shain tells Shots that online bullying is particularly damaging because it's hard for the victim to get away from it.

"It's in black and white, you can see it, everyone else can see it, it doesn't go away," he says. "You're not safe in your own house."

The report recommends doctors talk with teens directly about suicide risk factors, including bullying, drug and alcohol abuse, mood disorders and physical or sexual abuse.

The report includes suggested dialog and questions for doctors to ask their teenage patients and said the children should be interviewed alone, away from their parents.

"Physicians, including pediatricians, can play a critical role in identifying mental health conditions and in preventing suicide," Dr. Christine Moutier, chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, said in a statement.

She recommends that doctors get training in how to identify teens who may be thinking of killing themselves.

Beyond bullying, the effect of the Internet on suicide risk was mixed. The report found that teenagers who spend more than five hours a day online are a greater risk of trying to kill themselves.

But the the Web provides a cushion of sorts, too.

Teens who search the term "suicide" online are much more likely to find information on suicide prevention, help lines and other support than web sites that support or describe suicide, the report found.

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Teen Bullies And Their Victims Both Face A Higher Risk Of Suicide

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Bullying and cyberbullying are major risk factors for teen suicide. And both the bullies and their victims are at risk. That's according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics that urges pediatricians and family doctors to routinely screen teenagers for suicide risks.

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I Went Viral for Being Bullied
Author:  Michelle Crouch
Source: Scholastic Action, vol. 42, no. 1, Sept. 2018, pp. 14–17.

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Bullying Hurts -- But Peer Support Really Helps
Author: Landhuis, Esther. Source:
Science News for Students, Feb. 2017, p. 1.

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The resources in Discus South Carolina's Virtual Library are made available to state residents. Please enter the current Discus username and password. If you need assistance, contact your local library or media center. You may also contact the Discus Office: (803) 545-0201 or DiscusOffice@statelibrary.sc.gov

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The resources in Discus South Carolina's Virtual Library are made available to state residents. Please enter the current Discus username and password. If you need assistance, contact your local library or media center. You may also contact the Discus Office: (803) 545-0201 or DiscusOffice@statelibrary.sc.gov

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Six Types of Bullying Parents Should Watch For
Author: Sherri Gordon
Source: VeryWellFamily, 10/21/2021.

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Researchers who study bullying have discovered that there is much more to bullying than meets the eye. For instance, many people once believed that bullying only consisted of physical bullying and name-calling. But there are actually six types of bullying, including everything from excluding and gossiping about people to making fun of their race or religion.

Not all bullies are the same. Each has a different style and uses different tactics to intimidate and control their victims. For instance, some kids that bully are very sly about how they attack their target, while others are downright mean. By being aware of not only the types of bullying but also the types of bullies your child may encounter, you will be better equipped to help your child in any situation.

Physical Bullying

Physical bullying is the most obvious form of bullying. It occurs when kids use physical actions to gain power and control over their targets. Physical bullies tend to be bigger, stronger, and more aggressive than their peers. Examples of physical bullying include kicking, hitting, punching, slapping, shoving, and other physical attacks.

Unlike other forms of bullying, physical bullying is the easiest to identify. As a result, it is most likely what people think of when they think of bullying. Additionally, it has historically received more attention from schools than other more subtle forms of bullying.

Verbal Bullying

Perpetrators of verbal bullying use words, statements, and name-calling to gain power and control over a target. Typically, verbal bullies will use relentless insults to belittle, demean, and hurt another person. They choose their targets based on the way they look, act, or behave. It's also common for verbal bullies to target kids with special needs.

Verbal bullying is often very difficult to identify because attacks almost always occur when adults aren't around. As a result, it is often one person's word against another's. Additionally, many adults feel that things kids say don't impact others significantly. As a result, they usually tell the victim of bullying to "ignore it." But verbal bullying should be taken seriously.

Research has shown that verbal bullying and name-calling has serious consequences and can leave deep emotional scars.

Relational Aggression

Relational aggression is a sneaky and insidious type of bullying that often goes unnoticed by parents and teachers. Sometimes referred to as emotional bullying or social bullying, relational aggression is a type of social manipulation where tweens and teens try to hurt their peers or sabotage their social standing.

Relational bullies often ostracize others from a group, spread rumors, manipulate situations, and break confidences. The goal of a relationally aggressive bully is to increase their own social standing by controlling or bullying another person.

In general, girls tend to use relational aggression more than boys, especially between fifth and eighth grades. These girls are often called mean girls or frenemies. A teen or tween on the receiving end of relational aggression is likely to be teased, insulted, ignored, excluded and intimidated.

Although relational aggression is common in middle school, it is not limited to tweens. In fact, some bullying bosses and other workplace bullies also engage in relational aggression.

Cyberbullying

When a tween or a teen uses the Internet, a smartphone, or other technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person, it is cyberbullying. If an adult is involved in the harassment, it is called cyber-harassment or cyberstalking.

Examples of cyberbullying include posting hurtful images, making online threats, and sending hurtful emails or texts. Because teens and tweens are always plugged in, cyberbullying is a growing issue among young people. It's also becoming more widespread because bullies can harass their targets with much less risk of being caught.

Cyberbullies often say things that they do not have the courage to say face-to-face. Technology makes them feel anonymous, insulated, and detached from the situation. To the targets of cyberbullying, it feels invasive and never-ending. Bullies can get to them anytime and anywhere, often in the safety of their own homes. As a result, the consequences of cyberbullying are significant.

Sexual Bullying

Sexual bullying consists of repeated, harmful, and humiliating actions that target a person sexually. Examples include sexual name-calling, crude comments, vulgar gestures, uninvited touching, sexual propositioning, and pornographic materials. A bully might make a crude comment about a peer's appearance, attractiveness, sexual development, or sexual activity.

In extreme cases, sexual bullying opens the door to sexual assault. Girls are often the targets of sexual bullying both by boys and by other girls. Boys might touch them inappropriately, make crude comments about their bodies, or proposition them. Girls might call other girls names like "slut" or "tramp," make insulting comments about their appearance or body, and engage in slut-shaming.

Sexting also can lead to sexual bullying. If a girl sends a photo of herself to a boyfriend, he may share that photo widely if they break up. She becomes the target of sexual bullying because people make fun of her body, call her crude names, and make vulgar comments about her. Some boys may even see this as an open invitation to proposition her or sexually assault her.

Prejudicial Bullying

Prejudicial bullying is based on prejudices tweens and teens have toward people of different races, religions, or sexual orientation. This type of bullying can encompass all the other types of bullying. When prejudicial bullying occurs, kids are targeting others who are different from them and singling them out.

Oftentimes, this type of bullying is severe and can open the door to hate crimes. Any time a child is bullied for his sexual orientation, race, or religion, it should be reported.

Common Types of Bullies

Bullies have different styles, personalities, goals, and behaviors. Their motivations for and methods of bullying are all different. And not all bullies will fit neatly into a category. Some bullies will fall into several categories and some may appear to be in a category all their own.

Bully-Victims

Bully-victims often rise up after being bullied. They bully others weaker than them because they, too, have been bullied. Their goal usually is to regain a sense of power and control in their lives.

This type of bully is very common. In fact, a large number of kids who bully others have been bullied themselves by peers. Their bullying is a way of retaliating for the pain they are feeling. Other times the bully-victim comes from a home with domestic violence or suffers abuse from an older sibling. In these cases, bullying is a learned behavior.

Most bully-victims are loners or fall at the bottom of the social ladder at school. This fact adds to the sense of powerlessness and anger they feel. Consequently, they often appear hostile, which can cause them to be unpopular. This, in turn, perpetuates the cycle of the bully victim.

Popular Bullies

Popular bullies have big egos. They are confident and condescending. They usually have a group of followers and may feel like they rule the school. These bullies have a sense of entitlement that can stem from their popularity, size, upbringing, or socioeconomic status. They thrive on the physical power and control they have over their victims and may boast about their bullying.

Popular boys most often bully others through physical acts like pushing someone around, taking their books, or pinning them against lockers. Popular girls are more likely to use relational aggression. They spread rumors, are manipulative, and often exclude others.

Popular bullies are sometimes the school's star athlete or perceived school leader. They thrive on the attention and power they get from bullying. Peers often tolerate this type of bully because they would rather be accepted than bullied.

Relational Bullies

The relational bully is usually a somewhat-popular student who enjoys deciding who is accepted at school and who isn't. Excluding, isolating, and ostracizing others are the most common weapons used by this type of bully. Most often, the relational bully will use only verbal or emotional bullying to maintain control. Many times, mean girls are relational bullies.

Relational bullies also maintain their power by using rumors, gossip, labels, and name-calling. Typically, they target others because they are jealous or feel they are socially unacceptable. Maintaining popularity is the key reason for relational aggression. The relational bully will do anything to be part of the "in crowd."

Serial Bullies

The serial bully is another type of bully often found in popular circles. These bullies are systematic, controlled, and calculated in their approach. Parents, teachers, and administrators may have no idea what a serial bully is capable of.

This type of bully appears sweet, charming, and charismatic to authority figures. But, they can be cold and calculating and tend to inflict emotional pain on their victims over long periods of time. Sometimes serial bullies will use physical bullying, but only if they can be sure they won't be caught.

Serial bullies are skilled manipulators and liars and are usually fake friends. Their sweet and nice persona is just another way to manipulate situations to their liking.

They are able to twist facts and situations to make themselves look innocent or to get out of trouble when confronted. In fact, serial bullies are often so skilled at deception that their victims often are afraid to speak up, convinced that no one will ever believe them.

Group Bullies

Bullies in this category are part of a group and have a pack mentality when they are together. They tend to bully as a group but behave much differently when they are alone-even if they are alone with the victim. Usually, group bullies are cliques that imitate the leader of the group and just follow along.

Because kids feel insulated when they are in a group, they often feel free to say and do things they wouldn't do otherwise. They also feel less responsible for their actions because "everyone is doing it." This is a very dangerous type of bullying because things quickly can escalate out of control.

Indifferent Bullies

Indifferent bullies are often unable to feel empathy. As a result, they can often appear cold, unfeeling, and detached and have very little, if any, remorse for what they do to others. These types of bullies, although less common than the other types of bullies, are often the most dangerous.

Indifferent bullies are bullying for the sheer enjoyment of seeing another person suffer. They are not deterred by disciplinary actions. Additionally, indifferent bullies are often vicious and have deep psychological problems that need to be addressed by a professional. Traditional bullying intervention does not usually bring about change in their bullying.

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6 Types of Bullying Parents Should Know About

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Bullying consists of more than pushing and shoving. Discover six types of bullying along with the various types of bullies your child may encounter.

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Teens Are Being Bullied ‘Constantly’ on Instagram

Author: Taylor Lorenz
Source: The Atlantic, 10/10/2018.

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Harassment on the platform can be uniquely cruel, and for many it feels like there's no escape.

No app is more integral to teens' social lives than Instagram. While Millennials relied on Facebook to navigate high school and college, connect with friends, and express themselves online, Gen Z's networks exist almost entirely on Instagram. According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, 72 percent of teens use the platform, which now has more than 1 billion monthly users. Instagram allows teens to chat with people they know, meet new people, stay in touch with friends from camp or sports, and bond by sharing photos or having discussions.

But when those friendships go south, the app can become a portal of pain. According to a recent Pew survey, 59 percent of teens have been bullied online, and according to a 2017 survey conducted by Ditch the Label, a nonprofit anti-bullying group, more than one in five 12-to-20-year-olds experience bullying specifically on Instagram. "Instagram is a good place sometimes," said Riley, a 14-year-old who, like most kids in this story, asked to be referred to by her first name only, "but there's a lot of drama, bullying, and gossip to go along with it."

Teenagers have always been cruel to one another. But Instagram provides a uniquely powerful set of tools to do so. The velocity and size of the distribution mechanism allow rude comments or harassing images to go viral within hours. Like Twitter, Instagram makes it easy to set up new, anonymous profiles, which can be used specifically for trolling. Most importantly, many interactions on the app are hidden from the watchful eyes of parents and teachers, many of whom don't understand the platform's intricacies.

"There is no place for bullying on Instagram, and we are committed to fostering a kind and supportive community. Any form of online abuse on Instagram runs completely counter to the culture we're invested in -a platform where everyone should feel safe and comfortable sharing their lives through photos and videos," an Instagram spokesperson told The Atlantic in September. This week, the company also announced a set of new features aimed at combatting bullying, including comment filters on live videos, machine-learning technology to detect bullying in photos, and a "kindness camera effect to spread positivity" endorsed by the former Dance Moms star Maddie Ziegler.

Still, Instagram is many teens' entire social infrastructure; at its most destructive, bullying someone on there is the digital equivalent of taping mean flyers all over someone's school, and her home, and her friends' homes.

After a falling-out with someone formerly in her friend group last year, Yael, a 15-year-old who asked to be referred to by a pseudonym, said the girl turned to Instagram to bully her day and night. "She unfollowed me, blocked me, unblocked me, then messaged me days on end, paragraphs," Yael said. "She posted about me constantly on her account, mentioned me in her Story, and messaged me over and over again for weeks."

Yael felt anxious even just having her phone in her pocket, because it reminded her of the harassment. "Every time I logged on to my account, I didn't want to be there," she said. "I knew when I opened the app, she would be there. I was having a lot of anxiety over it, a lot of stress."

But still, she hesitated to quit the app entirely. Her friends on Instagram serve as a source of support. Also, quitting wouldn't stop her tormentor from talking about her, and she'd rather know what the girl was saying. "You know someone's talking about you, they're posting about you, they're messaging about you, they're harassing you constantly," she said. "You know every time you open the app they're going to be there."

Because bullying on your main feed is seen by many as aggressive and uncool, many teens create hate pages: separate Instagram accounts, purpose-built and solely dedicated to trashing one person, created by teens alone or in a group. They'll post bad photos of their target, expose her secrets, post screenshots of texts from people saying mean things about her, and any other terrible stuff they can find.

"I've had at least 10 hate pages made about me," said Annie, a 15-year-old who asked to be referred to by a pseudonym. "I know some were made in a row by the same person, but some were from different people. They say really nasty things about you, the most outrageous as possible."

i hate bullying. one of my classmates whom i considered as my friend made a hate page for my REAL friend on instagram. please advise me. :((( god i hate seeing people suffer. the fact that she actually plays the victim is disgusting. i can't believe i actually was friends w her.
- 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 & 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐢 (@joyfuIari) March 23, 2018

Sometimes teens, many of whom run several Instagram accounts, will take an old page with a high amount of followers and transform it into a hate page to turn it against someone they don't like. "One girl took a former meme page that was over 15,000 followers, took screencaps from my Story, and Photoshopped my nose bigger and posted it, tagging me being like, 'Hey guys, this is my new account,'" Annie said. "I had to send a formal cease and desist. I went to one of those lawyer websites and just filled it out. Then she did the same thing to my friend."

The scariest thing about being attacked by a hate page, teens say, is that you don't know who is doing the attacking. "In real-life bullying, you know what's doing it," said Skye, a 14-year-old. "Hate pages could be anyone. It could be someone you know, someone you don't know-you don't know what you know, and it's scary because it's really out of control at that point. Teachers tell you with bullying [to] just say 'Stop,' but in this case you can't, and you don't even know who to tell stop to."
What the law can (and can't) do about online harassment
Aside from hate pages, teens say most bullying takes place over direct message, Instagram Stories, or in the comments section of friends' photos. "Instagram won't delete a person's account unless it's clear bullying on their main feed," said Hadley, a 14-year-old, "and, like, no one is going to do that. It's over DM and in comment sections."

Mary, a 13-year-old who asked to be referred to by a pseudonym, said that relentless bullying on Instagram by a former friend gave her her first-ever panic attack. It started, Mary said, after she made the cheer team and her former friend did not. "She would DM me, or when I was with my friends, if they posted me on their Story, she would [respond] and say mean stuff about me since she knew I would see it since I'm with them," Mary said. "She would never do it on her own Story; she'd make it seem like she wasn't doing anything."

"There was literally a group chat on Instagram named Everyone in the Class but Mary," she added. "All they did on there was talk bad about me."

On Instagram, it's easy to see what people are up to and whom they're hanging out with. For teenagers who are acutely aware of social status, even a seemingly innocent group photo can set a bully off. Teens say that tagging the wrong friend in a photo can unleash a bully's wrath. Every location tag, comment, Story post, and even whom you follow or unfollow on your finsta (a secondary Instagram account where teens post more personal stuff) is scrutinized.

"Lots of bullying stems from jealousy, and Instagram is the ultimate jealousy platform," Hadley said. "People are constantly posting pics of their cars, their bodies. Anything good in your life or at school goes on Insta, and that makes people jealous."

Many high schools have anonymously run "confessions"-style Instagram accounts where users submit gossip about other students at school. For instance, an account like Greenville High School Confessions will pop up with a bio asking followers to "send the tea," i.e., gossip. Students will follow the locked account and submit texts of people saying bad things about one another or gossip they've heard about people at school. The account admin or admins will select the juiciest rumors and blast them out on Stories or on the main feed, sometimes even tagging the student's handle.

When someone who runs a school's confessions account doesn't like you, it can feel like the whole school has turned against you. "There was a page made called DTS.gossip, the initials of our school," Riley said. "The account was made to post rumors and crap about people in my school, but a lot of them were about me."

Rory, a 15-year-old, said that confessions accounts had gotten so out of control at her high school that administrators had banned taking photos of other students on campus. "People at my school would ... expose drama or make up stuff, Photoshop people's faces, bully them basically. It's all anonymous."
The teens who post the same thing every day on Instagram
But Rory said that the no-picture rule hasn't really curbed bullying. Not long ago, someone posted an entire diss track saying awful things about a 15-year-old girl to SoundCloud, which students promptly set as the link in their Instagram bio.

"I think a lot of kids get really invested in drama," Riley said, "with beauty gurus, YouTube, stuff like that. When it happens at school, they're very interested in it. It's fun. Which is horrible."

In Rory's case, Instagram has been both the catalyst and the medium for bullying. When she was 13, she was featured on the official Instagram account of Brandy Melville, a popular teen clothing brand.

"Tons of people from my school saw it immediately and started to make memes of me, calling me anorexic," she said. "Then there were others suggesting I wasn't thin enough. On their finstas, people were posting these mean things, people I thought I was friends with. I would block their finstas and they would tag my main account."

But even in the midst of the worst bullying, teens say they're wary of logging off. Rory is still active on the platform, though she only uses one account.

"Everyone has friends from Instagram," said Liv, a 13-year-old. "Everyone makes friends that way. It's inevitable. Everyone does it." Some teens did say they'd deactivate or take a break if their parents forced them to, but quitting forever "wasn't an option."

"You can message someone on insta 'Hey, you're a bitch' so easily," Liv said. "People need to think more about what they say before they say it, even if it's a DM you forget about and log off. The person you sent that message to, it can impact them. You can really screw someone's life up."

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Teens Are Being Bullied 'Constantly' on Instagram

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Harassment on the platform can be uniquely cruel, and for many it feels like there's no escape. No app is more integral to teens' social lives than Instagram. While Millennials relied on Facebook to navigate high school and college, connect with friends, and express themselves online, Gen Z's networks exist almost entirely on Instagram.

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Preventing and stopping bullying involves a commitment to creating a safe environment where children can thrive, socially and academically, without being afraid.

Cite this

American Psychological Association. (2011, January 1). How parents, teachers, and kids can take action to prevent bullying. https://www.apa.org/topics/bullying/prevent

Introduction

Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional and involves an imbalance of power or strength. It is a repeated behavior and can be physical, verbal, or relational. While boys may bully others using more physical means, girls often bully others by social exclusion. Bullying has been part of school, and even workplaces, for years. More recently, though, technology and social media have created a new venue for bullying that has expanded its reach. Cyberbullying is bullying that happens online and via cell phones. Websites like YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat allow kids to send hurtful, ongoing messages to other children 24 hours a day. Some sites, such as Instagram, allow messages to be left anonymously.

Preventing and stopping bullying involves a commitment to creating a safe environment where children can thrive, socially and academically, without being afraid. APA recommends that teachers, parents, and students take the following actions to address bullying.

Teachers and school administrators

Be knowledgeable and observant

Teachers and administrators need to be aware that although bullying generally happens in areas such as the bathroom, playground, crowded hallways, and school buses as well as via cell phones and computers (where supervision is limited or absent), it must be taken seriously. Teachers and administrators should emphasize that telling is not tattling. If a teacher observes bullying in a classroom, he/she needs to immediately intervene to stop it, record the incident, and inform the appropriate school administrators so the incident can be investigated. Having a joint meeting with the bullied student and the student who is bullying is not recommended-it is embarrassing and very intimidating for the student that is being bullied.

Involve students and parents

Students and parents need to be a part of the solution and involved in safety teams and antibullying task forces. Students can inform adults about what is really going on and also teach adults about new technologies that kids are using to bully. Parents, teachers, and school administrators can help students engage in positive behavior and teach them skills so that they know how to intervene when bullying occurs. Older students can serve as mentors and inform younger students about safe practices on the internet.

Set positive expectations about behavior for students and adults

Schools and classrooms must offer students a safe learning environment. Teachers and coaches need to explicitly remind students that bullying is not accepted in school and such behaviors will have consequences. Creating an antibullying document and having both the student and the parents/guardians sign and return it to the school office helps students understand the seriousness of bullying. Also, for students who have a hard time adjusting or finding friends, teachers and administrators can facilitate friendships or provide "jobs" for the student to do during lunch and recess so that children do not feel isolated or in danger of becoming targets for bullying.

Parents

Parents of kids being bullied

Observe your child for signs they might be being bullied

Children may not always be vocal about being bullied. Signs include: ripped clothing, hesitation about going to school, decreased appetite, nightmares, crying, or general depression and anxiety. If you discover your child is being bullied, don't tell them to "let it go" or "suck it up." Instead, have open-ended conversations where you can learn what is really going on at school so that you can take the appropriate steps to rectify the situation. Most importantly, let your child know you will help them and that they should try not to fight back

Teach your child how to handle being bullied

Until something can be done on an administrative level, work with your child to handle bullying without being crushed or defeated. Practice scenarios at home where your child learns how to ignore a bully and/or develop assertive strategies for coping with bullying. Help your child identify teachers and friends that can help them if they're worried about being bullied.

Set boundaries with technology

Educate your children and yourself about cyberbullying and teach your children not to respond or forward threatening emails. "Friend" your child on Facebook and other social media platforms and set up proper filters on your child's computer. Make the family computer the only computer for children, and have it in a public place in the home where it is visible and can be monitored. If you decide to give your child a cell phone think carefully before allowing them to have a camera option. Let them know you will be monitoring their text messages. As a parent, you can insist that phones are stored in a public area, such as the kitchen, by a certain time at night to eliminate nighttime bullying and inappropriate messaging. Parents should report bullying to the school, and follow up with a letter that is copied to the school superintendent if their initial inquiry receives no response.

Parents should report all threatening messages to the police and should document any text messages, emails, or posts on websites.

Parents of kids engaged in bullying

Stop bullying before it starts

Educate your children about bullying. It is possible that your child is having trouble reading social signs and does not know what they are doing is hurtful. Remind your child that bullying others can have legal consequences.

Make your home "bully free"

Children learn behavior through their parents. Being exposed to aggressive behavior or an overly strict environment at home makes kids more prone to bully at school. Parents/caregivers should model positive examples for your child in your relationships with other people and with them.

Look for self esteem issues

Children with low self-esteem often bully to feel better about themselves. Even children who seem popular and well-liked can have mean tendencies. Mean behavior should be addressed by parents and disciplined.

Students

Report bullying and cyberbullying

It is important for students to report any bullying to a parent or an adult they trust. Often kids don't report cyberbullying because they fear their parents will take away their phone or computer. Parents will support their child's reports of bullying and not take away their phones as a consequence. It is important for kids to remember that bullying is wrong and should be handled by an adult.

Don't bully back

It may be difficult to not bully back, but as the saying goes, two wrongs don't make a right. Try not to show anger or tears. Either calmly tell the bully to stop bullying or simply walk away.

Avoid being alone

Whenever possible, avoid situations where there are no other students or teachers. Try to go to the bathroom with a friend or eat lunch in a group. When riding the bus, sit near the front. If you know a student who likes to bully others is in an area where you normally walk to lunch or class, try to use alternative hallway routes.

Remember, report bullying of yourself or other students to your teacher, coach, principal, and/or parent.

Conclusion

Students who experience bullying may feel overwhelmed, depressed, or anxious. If your child or student is having trouble at school or with friends as a result of bullying, a mental health professional, such as a psychologist, can help your child develop resilience and confidence. This will enable your child to be more successful both socially and academically.

Special thanks to
Rosalind Dorlen, PsyD, independent practice, New Jersey
Elaine Ducharme, PhD, independent practice, Connecticut
Susan M. Swearer, PhD, associate professor of school psychology and licensed psychologist; codirector, Nebraska Internship Consortium in Professional Psychology; and secretary, APA Division 16 (School Psychology)

Recommended Reading

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How parents, teachers, and kids can take action to prevent bullying

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Preventing and stopping bullying involves a commitment to creating a safe environment where children can thrive, socially and academically, without being afraid.

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Why we still allow bullying to flourish in kids sports

Author: Lisa L. Lewis
Source: The Washington Post, 1/2/2018.

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In the cellphone video, a teenage boy stands at the front of the classroom as his football teammates laugh. The coach walks to the door and closes it. "We don't want no witnesses," he says, to more laughter. After hesitating, the boy complies with the coach's orders to close his eyes

and clasp his hands behind his head. Then the coach punches him in the stomach. The boy doubles over and falls to the floor as his teammates laugh some more.

The clip, shot at California's Beaumont High School, made headlines after it was turned over to local police in October. Equally shocking, however, were the expressions of support by many of the players and their parents, who downplayed the incident and lauded the coach, Will Martin, for his mentoring influence. "If it's so bad, why are the kids laughing?" one mom asked, while another parent characterized Martin as a "man of God."

Martin's behavior may be an extreme example, but physical and emotional bullying by youth coaches is often still accepted or even defended as a way to improve performance and build character. Some coaches use exercise as punishment , including one in Des Moines, who was subsequently fired for it in 2012. And verbal abuse by coaches such as name-calling and belittling players is common at all levels of sports. In one study of 800 youth athletes, more than a third of the respondents said their coaches had yelled at a kid angrily for making a mistake, and 4 percent said the coach had hit, kicked or slapped someone on the team. (The authors note that if their sample is seen as representative of the larger population of youth athletes, this equates to close to 2 million kids being on the receiving end of this type of physical bullying each year.)

In any other setting, that behavior would immediately be recognized as physical abuse, noted Jennifer Fraser, the author of "Teaching Bullies: Zero Tolerance on the Court or in the Classroom." "Imagine two women in a staff meeting," she suggested. "Would this be seen as motivating? Would she (the victim) be a better employee as a result?"

In many cases, coaches are simply replicating what was done to them or may be taking out their frustration on their players. "When a coach is yelling like that, they're modeling poor emotional control," said Kristen Dieffenbach, an associate professor of athletic coaching education at Western Virginia University and an executive board member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. "When I coach soccer and hockey, I yell - sometimes you need to in order to get the kids to pay attention to you. But there's a difference between high energy and 'What the hell is wrong with you?' "

For kids and adolescents, the impact of being yelled at and belittled - or having a coach slap kick or even punch them - is long-lasting . (Even though the majority of the research looks at peer-to-peer bullying, the dynamic in coach-player bullying is consistent with the imbalance of power that's generally used in definitions of bullying.)

Players may hesitate to speak up for fear of retaliation. And parents who do so risk being seen as helicopter parents, Fraser noted.

And in fact, there's no evidence to suggest that this type of domineering coaching is what wins championships. Instead, coaches who use positive methods have a better track record of keeping kids from dropping out of youth sports, increasing player engagement and developing skills and character, which in turn help teams win. The nonprofit Positive Coaching Alliance, based in Mountain View, California, and featuring an all-star advisory board lineup that includes winning coaches, such as Phil Jackson, Bruce Bochy and Steve Mariucci, calls this double-goal coaching, which focuses on winning and even more so on teaching life lessons.

Similarly, experts like Dieffenbach believe the best way to combat old-school coaching is through education. Dieffenbach said coaches often get frustrated and resort to dictatorial techniques because they lack other tools. "Is your job as a coach to dominate, or to lead and develop?" she asked.

Requirements for high school coaches vary by state - in Illinois , for example, prospective coaches only need coaching certification if they don't already have an Illinois teaching, school counseling or similar certificate. And in Hawaii , the governing body for high school sports only requires that coaches participating in state championship events take a "Fundamentals of Coaching" course and allows them two years to do so, even though they're coaching players in the interim. The course is offered by the National Federation of State High School Associations, which oversees interscholastic sports federations in each state and the District of Columbia and is one of the main groups offering courses to meet these varying state requirements. Dan Schuster, who oversees educational services for the association, noted that the fundamentals course addresses bullying in the context of providing a safe and respectful environment and refers coaches to additional optional resources on the topic.

In addition to educating coaches, though, we need to look at the broader culture that's made these bullying behaviors seem acceptable. Rationalizing it through a "win at all costs" mind-set or accepting that it's embedded in competitive sports - particularly in aggressive ones like football - only perpetuates it. Joe Ehrmann, a former NFL defensive lineman who spent most of his career with the Baltimore Colts and is now a minister, has said, "The great myth in America today is that sports builds character . . . (but) sports doesn't build character unless the coach models it, nurtures it and teaches it."

We need to make sure that when we talk about bullying, we're clear about exactly what that means. In a paper published last month in the Sport Journal, Charles Bachand noted that being able to determine whether bullying in sports is increasing or decreasing depends on having a standard definition. Some of the research to date doesn't even include key components such as the imbalance of power inherent in the coach-player dynamic, Bachand pointed out.

Of course, most coaches are hard-working, well-meaning and passionate about sports. Those who do end up bullying may simply be frustrated or misguided about athlete development.

But when they do bully players, we have a responsibility to avoid defending or normalizing it. I have a son who plays high school varsity football, and I was sickened not just by the clip of the Beaumont High School coach, but by the parents who defended his behavior. A teen who's been punched in the stomach by his coach has already been failed once by adults and doesn't need to be failed again.

- Lewis is a writer based in Southern California.

Source Citation

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Why we still allow bullying to flourish in kids sports

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the cellphone video, a teenage boy stands at the front of the classroom as his football teammates laugh. The coach walks to the door and closes it. "We don't want no witnesses," he says, to more laughter. After hesitating, the boy complies with the coach's orders to close his eyes and clasp his hands behind his head.

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Bullying Statistics
Source: pacer.org

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Almost one out of every four students (22%) report being bullied during the school year (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2015). Rates of bullying vary across studies (from 9% to 98%).

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In the BEHS Library Catalog, click on Writing and MLA Citation Help