Bullying is simply an act of aggression that in most instances is intentional and repetitive and directed to individuals considered to be at lower power. According to Kowalski et al., (2012), bullying is considered as one of the greatest challenges to the social existence across the globe. Various types of bullying are experienced every day all over the world in different forms and fashions. Bullying is related to the low self-esteem, a high suicidal ideation, mounting anger, and frustration, in addition to various emotional and psychological problems. Studies have shown that adolescent girls are more likely than the boys when it comes to experiencing bullying, and this can either be a victim or an offender (Regoli, Hewitt & DeLisi, 2016). Bullying is related to various issues in the ‘real world’ ranging from school problems, potential anti-social behaviour, substance and drug abuse, and diverse delinquency. About 30 % of U.S. students are reported to have engaged in a type of bullying.
In The Amanda Todd Story video, Amanda went through numerous forms of harassment. The two general harassments that she got subjected to were verbal and emotional. These forms of bullying led to further problem and consequences that Amanda faced as she lived and moved about from different schools and cities. Key contributing factors that believed to have resulted in bullying behaviours are, lack of attention in the home, low self-esteem, and lack of empathy (Video Source: ChisVideos, 2012).
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Research has reported that bullying has diverse approaches to make itself known. As a viewer watches the video about Amanda Todd, he or she will notice types of bullying two of which that were obvious being verbal bullying and emotional bullying. At the beginning of the bullying, Amanda was being threatened by someone that if she did not show off her breast, she would be reported to her friends and family members. The other form of bullying that Amanda encountered was her being set up by someone she thought liked her, she decided to meet up with the guy, and a few days later he turned against her and tried to have his girlfriend fight her (Video Source: ChisVideos, 2012). In both instances, Amanda was tempted to believe that she was talking to someone she considered to be her friend only later to realize this person would make her life a living disaster. Apparently, Amanda experienced horrible experiences from her many bullies. After the first bullying instance, she moved schools severally only to find out that this was not a suitable solution to her problem. Amanda was annoyed, forced to eat alone and was extremely depressed. Amanda even began cutting herself and taking anti-depressants to try to make the thing seem a little bit better. Amanda w was forced to experience an extreme measure to the extent that she wanted to commit suicide she drank bleach and even overdosed on pills.
There exist some approaches that Amanda’s parents, authorities and even teachers could have adopted and implemented to address the concept of bullying experiences of Amanda. These would include addressing the issues more effectively, have more involvement with your child, and check their phones, laptops and computers. To begin if an incident should occur at school then the incident should be reported, and all parties’ parents should be notified of the bullying issue. According to Kowal.ski et al., (2012), the Parents ought to be an active part of their child’s life and stop being the friend and be the mentor which every child needs. The kids demand their parents to give them attention so they do not seek other types of attention from others that can lead them to trouble. The parents have a significant role to play in checking their children’s phones, computers and laptops, that the children own or accesses. In most homes, the idea of privacy does not exist when you are a child living underneath the family's roof (Video Source: ChisVideos, 2012).
Bullying has transformed drastically since the years 1980’s however, for the most part, it is considerably about the same. Standard features of bullies since the year 1980’s are the name calling and gossiping. It is clear that these types of bullying will exist as long as there are humans on earth. According to Kowal.ski et al., (2012), women and girls typically do the gossiping while men and boys do the majority of name calling. However, I do not necessarily agree with the idea of people choosing to do this; however, it has happened and continued to happen. There is no need to ask whether there is any difference in bullying today than in the 1980’s because the answer is definitely yes. The significant difference in bullying is cyber bullying sexual preference bullying (Video Source: ChisVideos, 2012). It is considered a real common type of bullying that majority of the middle grades often utilizes. This type is very hurtful based on the fact that it can spread out quickly and a person might not be in a position to know how it all started. When a person is bullied based on his or her sexual preferences has been reported to be very challenging to address and is continually experienced in today's world. It can be said that most of these individuals are bullied because others cannot accept that fact that they chose to be different in the way they have relationships which are very unfortunate.
Some of the common factors that could lead to bullying behaviours among individuals include lack of attention in the home in addition to the lack of empathy. Children who require a closer attention are willing to seek it in any form possible more especially through being bullies. According to Kowal.ski et al., (2012), most of the kids would like to experience a sense that they are wanted and also feel the need for discipline that can only come from at home, by way of a parent or guardian (Regoli, Hewitt & DeLisi, 2016). For the individual believed to have low self-esteem, it is much easier for them to become a bully since they already feel down or bad about themselves it is not hard to bring someone down as well. The phrase misery loves company goes hand and hand with someone who has low self-esteem and trying to find someone else down. For the individuals who lack empathy has been argued are usually bullies. When a person cares less about what he or she say and do to others and causes them harm then, he qualifies to be a bully (Video Source: ChisVideos, 2012). Despite the fact that there exist some behaviours and risk factors that can make an individual to become a bully; there are also strategies that can be adopted to reduce bullying cases. Prevention programs are effective hence the need to take and implement because they tend to work in close collaboration with families and groups in the community to manage the issues related to bullying. They can also provide resources for victims and offenders counselling allowing both parties not to feel they are alone dealing with their problem (Kowal.ski et al., 2012).
In conclusion, based on the above analysis, bullying is all around us in every shape, shade, and form. Bullying has been a major issue globally especially among the adolescents and has been associated with diverse social and emotional problems that impact negatively on the life of the target individual. Amanda Todd as shown from the film got bullied which led to further consequences in her adulthood. If behaviours can be changed and the kids are given adequate involvement from their parents, then a boost to their overall self-esteem would be improved. These children should be encouraged to care how they treat other people who would lower the bullying cases. The problem often begins at home; therefore when these kids access a sound foundation with a sense of security from their parents, bullying rates would be reduced.
References
Kowalski, R. M., Limber, S. P., Limber, S., & Agatston, P. W. (2012). Cyberbullying: Bullying in the digital age . John Wiley & Sons.
Regoli, R. M., Hewitt, J. D., & DeLisi, M. (2016). Delinquency in society . Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Video Source: ChisVideos. (2012, October 11). Amanda Todd’s Story: Struggling, Bullying, Suicidal, Self-harm [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej7afkypUsc.
