Introduction
The society has seen a number of social behaviors that have affected the day to day activities of individuals. The youth have engaged in vices that impaczt their lives negatively and have also led to a deteroriation of their development (Roland, 2013). Among the social behaviors regarded as a setback to one’s life include drug abuse, gambling, bullying among others. For the purpose of prosperity and harmonius cpoexistence among perrs in the society, such bahiours ought to be checked, not only by the authority but also parents and guardians responsible for their children.
Bullying is unwanted and aggressive behavior that involves power imbalance. It is most common in children and youngsters and commonly involves intimidation and sometimes fights. A bullying culture can develop in any location where people interact in their daily activities. The behavior is characterized with actions such as hostile intent, imbalance of power and repetition over a period of time. The reaction can hurt physically, emotionally or even mentally. Bullying can be directed to a specific target or targets. Bullying can take the form of physical contact, words or subtler actions that communicate imbalance of power between the victim and the bully. The common types of bullying include physical, verbal and social bullying.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Characteristic of bullies
People who tend to fall into this category have defining features such that whenever one is involved in a conversation with them, it is easy to identify them. Bullying incidents consist of three types of people which are the victims, bullies and the bystanders. The bullies can be divided into three subgroups depending on their reaction to a situation (Olweus et al. 2013).
Passive bullies- they are not aggressive or popular due to their low esteem and few attractive features. They appear to have difficulties concentrating on their daily activities ay in school or at the workplace. It is not often for them to start bullying incidents; instead, they stay back and wait for one to happen so that they can take part. Once an incidence happens, they become more active and aggressive. From their actions, they can also be described as anxious bullies where they wait for incidents to start for them to participate.
Aggressive bullies - they are the most common type of bullies and are identified with dynamic personality and features such as being physically strong, fearless and hot-tempered. They are the ones who initiate incidents for the passive bullies to join them. They are most common in the lower classes of the school where the urge to dominate over others is taken as a competition. As people grow up and realize the meaning of friendship and solving issues in the right ways, the aggressive bullies reduce in numbers.
The victims can also be grouped as false, vicarious, passive, perpetual and provocative depending on how they provoke the bullies. The characteristic of victims is what lead to their victimization. Some are associated with fear, low self-esteem, anger, irritation, negative responses among others (Roland, 2013).
Consequences of bullying
People who are bullied experience negative physical and mental issues depending on which extent the incident affected them (Alexander, 2014). Some of the experiences include:
Health complaints due to fights and pushing each other
Depression and low self-esteem especially when they appear to be loser
Poor performance in place of work or school.
Fights and destroying property especially for the bullies
Drug abuse which leads to dropping out of school or increased criminal activities
Disrespecting of others or oneself.
Repeated or major issues may cause greater problems like contributing to suicide risk, including depression, problems at home, and trauma history.
Some steps can be taken to stop or minimize the cases of bullying in schools or among peers. They include taking actions, educating children on the associated dangers, speaking up, talking to teachers and parents and standing up for those children who are bullied.
Role of culture and social environments in bullying
It is common that most bullying activities take place in schools mostly for the lower classes. The main groups that play a significant role in preventing the actions include the teachers and parents. They educate the children on the dangers that might occur when they bully each other. Taking appropriate actions towards the bullies with the aim of teaching without harming is also the role of the society (Roland, 2013). Those who fall into the category of bystanders should take the required actions to reduce the risk of both parties incurring injuries.
Conclusion
Bullying among children or peers can be dangerous when not controlled. Some of the consequences associated with it can lead to damaged property or make one's life a misery. The effects can be both long term and short term. When bullying happens, relevant authorities should be informed to take the best form of action.
References
Alexander, L. (2014). Hope and the bullies: the girl who drew the line at the bullying . East Molesey England: Yong Voice.
Olweus, D. & Mortimore, P. (2013). Bullying at school : what we know and what we can do . Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Roland, E. (2013). Bullying: The Scandinavian research tradition. Bullying in schools , 21-32.
