Bullying: What’s the Big Deal?
What is Bullying?
• It can be defined as unprovoked,
repeated and aggressive actions,
harassment and attacks on others.
– Remember bullying is about perception NOT
intent
• Forms of bullying:
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Physical violence and attacks
Verbal taunts, name calling and put downs
Threats and intimidation
Extortion or stealing money and possessions
Exclusion from the peer group
What is Cyber Bulling?
• Cyber bullying is any harassment
that occurs through electronic
media devices; computers,
Internet, or cell phones
• Vicious forum posts, name calling
in chat rooms, posting fake profiles
on web sites, and mean or cruel
email/text messages
Specific Examples of Bullying
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Name-calling
Taunting
Teasing
Put-downs
Saying or writing inappropriate things about a
person
• Deliberately excluding a person from an activity
or conversation
• Threatening a person with bodily harm
– Hitting, kicking, tripping, shoving…
• Taking or damaging a person’s belongings
• Making a person do things he/she doesn’t want
to do
Types of Cyber Bullying
• Email
• Cell phones – Text Messaging, Picture/Video Texts
• Sending or forwarding cruel text messages
• Harassing phone calls
• Chat rooms, Instant Messaging, Online Games
• Web pages, Websites (MySpace, Facebook…)
• Pretending they are someone else online to trick
others into revealing personal information
• Spreading lies and rumors about victims via
electronic media
• Pictures or videos on the web…such as YouTube,
MySpace, Facebook…
• Posting pictures of victims without their consent
• Sharing/sending these images with others
How prevalent is bullying?
• About 160,000 student don’t attend
school every day because they are
in fear of being bullied.
– 28 million school days are missed
each year due to fear of attack or
intimidation by bullies
• Students receive an average of 213
verbal put-downs per week, or 30
per day.
Consequences of Bullying
• 10% of students dropout of school
because of repeated bullying.
• 26% of girls and 16% of boys who
have been frequently bullied,
experience depression.
Consequences for the Bullies
• By age 23, about 60% of the boys
identified as bullies in middle school
had at least one conviction of a
crime and 35% to 40% had three or
more convictions.
• Bullies at age 8 are three times
more likely to be convicted of a
crime by age 30.
How is this happening
• Bullying usually involves more than
the bully and the victim.
– 85% of bullying episodes occur in the
context of a peer group.
• Most bullying begins with
downs.
put-
Stop & Think!
• Before saying something, taking action,
sending out emails/text-messages,
MySpace comments, Facebook “wall
posting”, bulletins, blogs…THINK of your
message and your intentions
– Answer this question: Am I trying to hurt
someone physically or emotionally?
– Do not try to be someone that you are not
– Do not say or do anything online that you
wouldn’t say or do in person in your home or
school
– Be aware of all possible consequences
Prevention Strategies
• Don’t hide what is happening from
adults you trust. Ask them for help
• Tell a friend, tell a teacher, tell a
parent. Bullying won’t stop unless
someone steps in.
• Vary the way you walk home. Vary
the time you walk home. Walk with
others.
Prevention Strategies
• Stay in areas at school that are well
supervised and have plenty of
people.
• Don’t give your cell phone number
to everyone.
• If you receive a threatening phone
call or email, tell your parents and
school officials.
Prevention Strategies
• Being bullied can make you feel
alone. Look for others on their own
and start a conversation about
anything.
• If you see someone being bullied,
discreetly tell someone about it.
• Become an ally instead of just a
bystander!
Everyday Thought
•Caring and Respect:
•Do unto others as you
would have them do
unto you!