School counselors have tons of topics to deal with when it comes to moderating how the students and the other staff members interact with one another. One of the most significant areas of interest to the school counseling field is bullying. Bullying is typically defined as the intimidation, coercion and seeking to harm a person that is considered vulnerable (Hymel & Swearer, 2015). Various elements are present in the definition of bullying. One of the components is unwanted and aggressive behavior. In the case of bullying, the vulnerable party is the recipient of unwanted and aggressive behavior, which alters their interaction with the others. The other aspect of the definition of the word bullying is the perceived or observed imbalance of power (Hymel & Swearer, 2015). Usually, one of the aims of bullying is to justify the power of one party over the other. The recipient of bullying is considered the weaker party in that case. The other common element of bullying as indicated in the definition is the likelihood repetitiveness of the actions that relate to bullying (Hymel & Swearer, 2015). The practice of bullying is known to occur to the victims many times, mostly with the same perpetrator and in some cases with different perpetrators. Bullying occurs on many levels to the students in the various parts of America. There are various types and modes of bullying as observed in American schools. The most commonly known modes of bullying are direct and indirect bullying (Hymel & Swearer, 2015). In direct bullying, there is usually the presence of a targeted youth when the bullying practice occurs. In the indirect mode of bullying, the practice of bullying is not directly communicated to the victim and mostly occurs in acts such as spreading rumors meant to evoke a reaction in the party considered vulnerable. Both direct and indirect bullying happens to students of different ages, and the school counselors have to be up to the task to counteract bullying.
There are four types of bullying according to the researchers and the school counselors (Rettew & Pawlowski, 2016). They are verbal, damage to property, physical and relational bullying. Physical bullying is known to have the presence of both the perpetrator and the victim and may end up in bodily harm to the victim. The physical bullying is mostly manifested through cases of beating and torture meant to cause harm or intimidate the victims into submitting to an unpleasant act or desisting from one (Rettew & Pawlowski, 2016). For instance, a case of physical bullying in an American high school may be observed when a student in a gang beats a non-member and makes them go through torture to ensure that they have coerced them to be part of the gang. In contrast to physical bullying, verbal bullying does not involve bodily contact (Rettew & Pawlowski, 2016). Typically, verbal bullying consists of the utterance of words meant to intimidate, coerce, and harm the victims. In most cases, verbal bullying may involve threats that may lead to physical bullying. Relational bullying consists of the presence of efforts to destroy the reputation of the targeted victims. Relational bullying is thus considered indirect and may involve the spread of rumors and secrets that may invoke a negative perception against the victim from society (Rettew & Pawlowski, 2016). Therefore, relational bullying mostly targets the emotional wellbeing of the victims. An example of relational bullying is a student releasing an embarrassing picture of another student to intimidate him or her or harm his or her emotional wellbeing. Damage to property as a form of bullying involves the intimidation of the victims by destroying what they own. For instance, the tearing of books of a particular student due to the presence of a misunderstanding with another student can result in bullying that results in the damage of property. The various types of bullying can happen individually or at the same time to a victim.
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In as much as the development of technology in the various parts of the world, with the most developments originating from the United States of America, it is clear that the advancement in technology has a downside as well. The rise in popularity of the social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and WhatsApp has a dark side; the development of cyberbullying (Baldry, Farrington, & Sorrentino, 2017). Cyberbullying, also known as electronic bullying, is similar to the conventional bullying only that the former happens across the communication devices including computers, laptops, and mobile phones (Baldry, Farrington, & Sorrentino, 2017). The location of cyberbullying is, therefore, online, but it has the same emotional effects as conventional bullying. The cases of cyberbullying among the teenagers in the United States of America have grown over the years with the rise in the number of people present on the social media sites (Baldry, Farrington, & Sorrentino, 2017). The types of bullying that are observed in cyberbullying are mostly verbal and relational bullying since there is lack of physical contact between the perpetrator and the victim of the bullying actions. Verbal bullying in the case of cyberbullying encompasses acts of harassment such as the ones involving threats and harassments (Baldry, Farrington, & Sorrentino, 2017). Relational bullying in the case of electronic bullying takes place through the spread of rumors regarding a victim to the other members of the society online. An example of cyberbullying involving relational bullying would be the sharing of false information on Twitter regarding a particular student to the other students to intimidate them to staying away from vying for a leadership post (Baldry, Farrington, & Sorrentino, 2017). Researchers involved in exploring cyberbullying as a branch of bullying has also identified that there could be damage to property in cyberbullying. Sometimes, the perpetrators of bullying go an extra mile and tamper with the privately stored information of the victims, which is considered as damage to property (Baldry, Farrington & Sorrentino, 2017). Therefore, the only difference between traditional bullying and electronic bullying is that the former involves physical contact while the latter does not.
The prevalence of bullying among middle and high school students in the United States of America is alarming as more cases are reported each year. The age group most targeted is the adolescents with the perpetrators of cyberbullying coming from the United States of America and out of the country (Selkie, Fales, & Moreno, 2016). Cyberbullying has been associated with a myriad of problems for American adolescents. Some of the pitfalls that have been associated with cyberbullying are cases of depression, suicide among the victims, and the rise in drug and substance abuse among the victims in the various institutions across the country. The research was performed to investigate the prevalence of cyberbullying among the American adolescent students in middle and high school levels (Selkie, Fales, & Moreno, 2016). The researchers looked for the peer-reviewed literature that was published up to June 2015 with the key search term as "cyberbullying." The sites considered were PubMed, PsychINFO, CINAHL Plus, and Web of Science (Selkie, Fales, & Moreno, 2016). The results of the study were to focus on the prevalence of cyberbullying for American students aged between 10 and 19. The search results came up with 1447 manuscripts with 58 unique studies meeting the inclusivity criteria (Selkie, Fales, & Moreno, 2016). The rates of prevalence regarding cyberbullying were as follows. Victimization ranged from 3% to 72%; perpetration ranged between 1% to 41% and overlapping victimization and perpetration covered between 2.3% to 16.7% (Selkie, Fales, & Moreno, 2016). One of the limitations of the research was that the data was mostly quantitative and less qualitative meaning that the factors leading to cyberbullying in the American middle and high schools were not defined. The research did not also focus more in-depth into the negative implications of the cyberbullying among the victims. However, from the results of the study, it was clear that cyberbullying is getting rampant in the country with more victims being affected.
Sexting is defined as the act of sending someone sexually explicit photographs or messages via mobile phones or laptops (Chaudhary et al., 2017). Just like the emergence of cyberbullying, the prevalence of sexting amount the American students is another downside of the advancement of technology specifically the continued use of social media platforms (Chaudhary et al., 2017). The emergence of dating sites such as Grindr and the others has also contributed to sexting among teenagers. The excessive freedom granted to American teenagers has been a significant factor leading to the emergence and development of sexting among the students. Most of the students will indulge into sexting for fun or as a way of flirting only to be addicted in it leading to widespread concern among the parents and the law enforcement agencies in the United States of America (Chaudhary et al., 2017). However, sexting may lead to various problems such as the thriving of cyberbullying where a perpetrator may use a victim's nude photo to bully them into something unpleasant such as joining a gang or indulging into drug and substance abuse. That is because the pictures shared between two people such as on a mobile phone may become a viral phenomenon and research the unintended parties (Chaudhary et al., 2017). The consequences can be emotionally and socially severe including suicide among the students who have their nude photos shared with third parties and used to blackmail them. Researchers have also explored the reasons why students in American schools engage in sexting (Chaudhary et al., 2017). One of the reasons is peer pressure from their age mates. The sharing of explicit photos and messages on social media is considered stylish, and the influence is felt by many students. The other reason given for sexting is the proof of commitment for the students that feel like they are in serious relationships with their partners (Chaudhary et al., 2017). They believe that sexting is one of the ways to keep the relationship exciting.
The consequences of sexting can be dire, as mentioned earlier. For the students citing the reason of sexting as proving commitment to their long term and serious relationships, the nude photos may be shared with third parties once the two have broken up or are undergoing issues. Such cases are known to lead to suicide and depression among the victims of the actions (Madigan et al., 2018). Additionally, the sharing of nude photos and flirty messages leads to cyberbullying. Cases involving the blackmail of students with nude photos they have earlier sent have been reported. Therefore, in such a case, sexting may lead to constant harassment and intimidation for the victims, which may affect their social interactions with others, lower their self-esteem, lead to indulgence in drug and substance abuse to reduce stress and can possibly lead to suicide (Madigan et al., 2018). The primary question among the researchers and the department of education in conjunction with the parents revolve around how to reduce the prevalence of sexting among the high school and middles school, American students, to save them from the wave of cyberbullying. In response to that, the officials from the public schools across America have made deliberate efforts to raise the awareness of the students and the parents regarding the challenges posed by sexting (Madigan et al., 2018). Seminars have been organized to enable the students to learn that sexting is not only morally wrong but also illegal in the United States of America. Parents can teach their children that there is no complete privacy in the age of interne and therefore sexting exposes them to vulnerability when it comes to cyberbullying. Parents can also use cell phone plans to protect their children such as blocking them from receiving or sending any obscene images and videos (Madigan et al., 2018). Parents can also let their children know the problems that can possibly arise from the use of social media and how to solve them.
The importance of bullying as a topic of concern to school counselors is evident. School counselors have an interventional role to reduce the cases of bullying among American students and help the victims regain their emotional wellbeing. Bullying has been reported to be one of the major problems affecting the various educational levels in the United States of America (Rettew & Pawlowski, 2016). Contrary to the expectations that bullying affects a particular age or race, it has been found to affect individuals of all the races in the country. According to the data released by the U.S. Department of Education in the year 2015, about 25% of the students in the schools across the country have reported bullying to their parents and the school authorities. The students were found to be between 12 and 18 (Rettew & Pawlowski, 2016). Therefore, the adolescent stage of growth was found to have the highest number of victims which arouses the interest if the school counselors to mitigate the consequences of bullying. While dealing with the victims of bullying in the schools, the counselors have to ensure that the talk is intentional and focuses on the deep emotions that are attached to bullying as a social problem (Rettew & Pawlowski, 2016). The school counselors have to identify what bullying is first before they can handle the repercussions of it. With the definition of bullying as intentional, aggressive, and unwanted behavior, a counselor can classify the behavior among the students that fulfill the definition criteria and come up with solutions to effectively solve the issue finally (Rettew & Pawlowski, 2016). As a counselor, it is essential to observe whether the behavior is repetitive to have firmer grounds to justify it as bullying and involve the school authorities to deal with the perpetrators of bullying in the American schools (Rettew & Pawlowski, 2016). The learning of the types and modes of bullying is also relevant to the school counselors as they embark on their challenging quest to reduce the instances of bullying, a problem that has affected the American schools continuously.
The comprehension of the short term and long-term ramifications associated with bullying is the next most crucial aspect of bullying that counselors need to consider. Research has indicated that bullying has many negative consequences on the victims, the perpetrators and the students who are regarded as bystanders in the case of bullying (Chapin, 2016). The students who bully the others, for instance, are likely to have a criminal behavior in their future and may get involved in drug and substance abuse. The victims may have consequences such as poor performance in the classroom, social consequences such as the lowering of self-esteem and self-confidence, and the likelihood to withdraw from the society and probably commit suicide depending on the extent of bullying they have undergone (Chapin, 2016). The bystanders may experience depression and the likelihood to indulge in the drug and substance abuse. Typically, the understanding of such implications by the counselors is useful in their intentional efforts to solve bullying as a setback that has affected the normal operations of American schools (Chapin, 2016). As a counselor, it is vital to know the way forward after the consideration of the problems associated with bullying. Thus, the first step may be the planning of comprehensive school intervention programs that highlight the behavior that constitutes bullying as well as the negative consequences that are connected with the practice of bullying among the adolescent students (Chapin, 2016). However, the efficacy of the intervention programs remains mixed as the counselors get more involved in changing the mindset of the students towards bullying, like the discouragement of the perpetration of the acts related to bullying and the variation of how the victims perceive bullying (Chapin, 2016). The counselors also need to consider the students perceived as bystanders in the case of bullying as they undergo their set of drawbacks and especially if either the perpetrator or the victim of bullying is their close friend or relative.
The intervention of school counselors in cyberbullying is also a vital tool towards the reduction in the cases of electronic bullying and the cyber safety of the American students. Increasingly, school counselors are dealing with cases of cyberbullying among American students. That is because of the increase in the use of social media among the students (Chapin, 2016). Some acts related to cyberbullying that the counselors have to deal with are name-calling, teasing, and put-downs that happen to some of the students over social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. Indeed, cyberbullying has amplified the scope and the scale of the existing problem of students being bullied in American schools (Chapin, 2016). The young people have, on average, spent more time being online which makes them a target for cyberbullying from their peers as well as the outsiders. The online bullies are known to post content and pictures that are meant to provoke harm, intimidation on threats to the victims of cyberbullying (Chapin, 2016). The involvement of the students in the posts makes them vulnerable to the practice. The knowledge of such facts by the school counselors is considered as the most fundamental step towards the battling of the practice, which has led to a myriad of pitfalls in the American education system as students report poorer grades over time (Chapin, 2016). The counselors, by understanding the scope of cyberbullying among the American students, often have a massive impact on the clients who have been faced with the life-changing challenges associated with cyberbullying. The school counselors, nevertheless, have to differentiate the occurrence of cyberbullying from the conventional bullying in that the role of the internet magnifies the occurrence of the cases of bullying among the students (Chapin, 2016). The practice of empathy is a skill that the school counselors should purpose to have so that they can adequately and accurately identify with the students who are faced with the issue in the American schools and know the most appropriate angles to solve the challenge.
Electronic bullying can range from simple practices such as the usual taunting or teasing to the intentional degradation of an individual's wellbeing. Sometimes, the perpetrator of cyberbullying may perpetrate it without even knowing that they are doing it. The understanding of such parameters by the school counselors places them at a convenient spot to identify and reduce the cases of bullying. A United Kingdom-based organization known as Ditch the Label performed research on the anti-bullying reports regarding children aged mostly between 12 and 15 in 2017 and had the following conclusions. The children that said they had done something purposely to upset someone represented 34% of the study population (Zych, Baldry & Farrington, 2017). Twenty-two percent of the students stated they had attacked someone while 31% attested to having said something nasty online (Zych, Baldry & Farrington, 2017). However, as data was being collected, only 12% of the respondents thought that they had bullied someone at one point or another (Zych, Baldry & Farrington, 2017). The rise of the online culture may complicate the understanding of what is considered bullying and what is not, which necessitates the counselors to have ample knowledge on the scope of cyberbullying to have the ability to counteract it and rehabilitate the victims. Approximately 34% of the students experience cyberbullying at one point or another in their lifetime as studies indicate (Zych, Baldry & Farrington, 2017). The rate of cyberbullying is increasing alarmingly with more students reporting varying degrees of the act. The understanding of the data regarding cyberbullying is crucial to the work of a school counselor in solving the various problems that are caused by the exposure of the American students to the practice. The consequences of cyberbullying are similar to those of conventional bullying in that the involved students may indulge in drug and substance abuse to feel better and more confident about themselves after being humiliated. The students may also become social outcasts and may become depressed. Some of the students result in suicide after they have failed to obtain the emotional help and support from their parents and guardians and the school authorities.
The school counselors in the various schools across the United States of America have different perceptions when it comes to sexting. Among the three issues facing the American students, bullying, cyberbullying, and sexting, sexting is regarded as the least adverse in terms of consequences (Van Ouytsel, Walrave & Van Gool, 2014). Nonetheless, sexting has its share of dire consequences and especially when it is linked to the practice of cyberbullying. School counselors, owing to the exposure of cases where sexting has disadvantaged the students, have gained a negative perception towards sexting. The counselors are actively rehabilitating the students from the act as it may lead to the cultivation of immorality in society. Due to the precedented challenges associated with sexting, the American schools have begun responding to their students regarding the same through the school counselors and the parents (Van Ouytsel, Walrave & Van Gool, 2014). The American media has increased its focus on the issue of sexting among adolescents with a keener insight into the consequences that are tied to the practice but are often ignored by society. Several tragic scenarios revealing the adverse implications of sexting have been observed with the significant consequence linked to the practice of sexting leading to the increase in the vulnerability of the students to cyberbullying, an increasing wave threatening more students each day (Van Ouytsel, Walrave & Van Gool, 2014). The teachers and the school counselors have been sensitized on the effects of sexting among the students. The understanding of the existence and potential effects, mostly in the negative, of the practice of sexting among the students is beneficial to the school counselors who are engrossed in finding out the best solution to discourage the students from the practice as it may jeopardize their academic performance and have lasting consequences into their future life. The counselors have had to understand the various reasons that the adolescents cite for the indulgence into sexting.
Some of the reasons that the students have given are as follows. Majority of the American students have stated that they are involved in sexting for fun. They will innocently send their nude photos and flirty texts just to enjoy the act with their peers (Van Ouytsel, Walrave & Van Gool, 2014). The other common reason that has been given for sexting among adolescents is to prove commitment for those who are in long term and serious relationships. The understanding of the reasons why the adolescents are increasingly sexting is inherent to the finding of a solution to the problem by the school counselors (Van Ouytsel, Walrave & Van Gool, 2014). Some of the consequences of sexting for the adolescents are the exposure of their photos and videos to third parties, which constitutes cyberbullying, and the possibility of getting depressed since their pictures are leaked. Long-term consequences may involve the depression and cases of suicide among the students. The understanding of the implications by the counselors is also part of the fundamental steps towards fighting sexting and its consequences in American schools.
References
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