Since elementary school we have been taught that same golden rule, “Treat others the way you would like to be treated.” As we get to high school we run into bullies or we become the bully and that golden rule leaves us. And now everyone uses the internet. The internet connects us to the world but the internet is also a place for bullying. Some are not bullied as a teenager but there are still those who have been bullied throughout their life. We bully by contact but the internet takes a big part in bullying today in the country. But the difference between bullying by contact and by the internet is that on the internet there are no limits. There are no laws.
They think that it’s just a part of growing up. But it’s not. Adults do it too not knowingly. We all do it when we say “hate” or when we try to ignore someone. It just comes out of our mouths and we wish we hadn’t said it. It is not as extreme as those who bully every day. It becomes a concern when it is constant bullying and the same person.
Some think that bullying involves demanding lunch money or tripping a student but bullying can get extreme where it involves deaths. The threats and the horrible taunting are too much and others cannot endure the pain that these threats are causing. They want to be alone and hide and all these thoughts about dying run across their mind. Bullying does not have to involve contact but many are bullied behind their back. Many students are living with fear because they are bullied every day.
Bullying is not only physical but it is also emotional. It is much easier to bully someone these days without actual contact. People try to add as many friends as possible on Facebook and Twitter and we add them because we know them and trust them. But then you start to chat with friends and they start bullying you, which is now called “cyberbullying.” It is easy and the adults cannot know what you are doing. No one can know what you are doing. You are safe and the person on the other side does not know who you are. More high school students have Facebook and Twitter now. Students try to act like someone they are not to get the person on the other side to respond. But this causes trouble. You don’t know how much you are hurting the person until they commit suicide or acts as someone they are not.
There have been many incidents where people have acted as someone else. Last year, according to The New York Times, Marie was anxious about her son going to school. The students were complaining that he had posted harsh comments about the students on Facebook but then finally realizing that it had been someone else. This person had posed as Marie’s son.
Ryan Mitchell was just one person of the many that is afraid to walk in the hallway in his school. According to The New York Times, Ryan Mitchell said “People don’t mess with groups of people, but they see someone walking by themselves, and there’s no fear there.” In this case, your friends act like your crutches. Without your crutches you cannot walk. Bullies will attack when they cannot get in trouble, when there are no adults. Bullies try to target those who are alone and weak because they cannot fight back. Some are feared by walking in the hallway without a friend. Then you will find the bully, laughing and trying to hurt you in any way they can. All that was going on in Ryan’s head was fear of what to expect.
The violence was increasing in the beginning of the year. Many have to walk the streets in fear of being bullied. There have been many cases where the person was killed. According to The New York Times, two 11 year-olds committed suicide because of constant harassment and there are still cases like this across the country.
Parents of children and students are not the only ones who are fighting against bullying. President Obama has discussed acts to end bullying. According to The New York Times, President Obama said, “If there’s one goal of this conference, it’s to dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up.” He supported those who were bullied because they had a disease or they were gay.
More students have joined groups of people to end bullying. Websites such as StopBullying.org have been created to inform people on bullying and decrease the number of bullies. Numerous people log onto these sites but there are still those few people who still bully others and it is still something that many children will have to go through.