The following is a term paper I wrote for a class I took entitled “The Psychology of Prejudice, Hate, and Violence.” The paper discusses the issue of bullying and cyber-bullying in U.S. schools. I hope by reading this you will have become more informed about the issue of bullying and cyber-bullying and will be able to put a stop to it.
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Bullying and Cyber-Bullying
On April 9, 2009 the mother of 11 year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover discovered her son hanging from an electrical cord in her home (GLSEN, 2009). He had killed himself because he was bullied. On April 21, 2009 10 year-old Yerralis Herrera discovered her 11 year-old older brother, Jaheem Herrera, hanging from a noose that Jaheem had fashioned out of a fabric belt (Boone & Leslie, 2009). Jaheem hanged himself because of constant bullying at school. On January 14, 2010 after enduring three months of “intolerable” bullying and cyber-bullying recent Irish immigrant 15 year-old Phoebe Prince hung herself in the stairwell of her family’s two-story apartment in South Hadley, Massachusetts (Goldman, 2010). On September 22, 2010 after updating his Facebook page with the status “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.” 18 year-old Tyler Clementi of Rutgers University jumped off the George Washington Bridge which connects New York City with Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey (Fenton, 2010; Friedman, 2011). Clementi had killed himself because his roommate and another student had secretly recorded and shared Clementi’s sexual encounter with another man. All of these suicides were the result of bullying; whether it was in the form of traditional bullying or cyber-bullying or a combination of the two. In the case of Phoebe Prince she had been both harassed at school, on her way walking home, via text messages, and on the social networking site Facebook (Goldman, 2010). With the advancement and prevalence of technology in youths’ lives today bullying has taken on a new face in the form of cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying is even more insidious than traditional bullying because (1) the aggressor has the ability to remain anonymous, (2) traditionally the home was a safe haven for the victim, and (3) with access to the internet being so widespread cyber-bullies have the power to effect more people and have more people witness and/or take part in the bullying. Both traditional and cyber-bullying is a growing problem in schools in the United States. This is a serious issues needs to be address by all levels of government and by our communities.
What is bullying? In the article “Bullying in different contexts: Commonalities, differences and the role of theory” published in the journal Aggression and Violent Behavior researchers define bullying as “an act that is intended to harm, that takes place repeatedly, and with an imbalance of power between the aggressor and target” (Monks et al., 2007). According to that same article those who are most likely to be bullied are: children with few friends, children who come from over-protective families, children who have a disability or special education needs, and sexual orientation. The effects of bullying vary but can be extreme, like the cases of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, Jaheem Herrera, Phoebe Prince, and Tyler Clementi. The article “Bullying in different contexts” says that “bullied children are significantly more likely to report not sleeping well, bed wetting, feeling sad, and experiencing head and stomach aches” (Monks et al., 2007). The article also mentions that bullied children can experience “anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem” (Monks et al., 2007).
Bullying can also lead to long-term effects. In the article “Bullying Devastates Lives: Victims Suffer Until They Find a Way to Heal” published in USA Today Janet Kornblum (2008) tells the story of three women over the age of thirty who were bullied and teased in school. In Kornblum’s article Kathy Shedd, 42, suffered abuse from students in school because she has red hair. Shedd says that bullying has left a mark and it is so bad she is afraid to go out in public without the company of her husband (Kornblum, 2008). In the editorial “Standing Up to Bullies” published in The Boston Globe the author makes a point that bullying not only can lead to suicide but also to homicide, referring to the killings of Columbine and Virginia Tech (Standing up, 2007). In the article “Bullies and bullied more likely hit by crime” published in USA Today writer Wendy Koch (2007) reports that a study conducted in 2005 by the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center “found that 70% of bullies and 66% of bullying victims were crime victims,” compared to the 43% of kids who were neither bullies nor victims. Melissa Holt, a research professor at University of New Hampshire’s center, says that “bullies may be less apt to walk away from fights” and “a shy or insecure child is vulnerable in and out of school” (Koch, 2007). Thus, bullying is not something that is confined to the aggressor and the target but can spread throughout our schools and communities.
According to the website Stop Cyberbullying, cyber-bullying is “when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones” (Stop Cyberbullying.com). This can include using mobile phones to make harassing phone calls and send harassing messages. It can also include using the Internet to set up websites for the sole purpose of allowing one or multiple people to harass a person (or group of persons); one example of this is through the use of polling sites. Cyber-bullying can also take place on social networking sites, such as Facebook, where the victim often receives harassing messages. Cyber-bullying is the twenty-first century’s form of bullying. It allows the bullies right into your personal domain. In a 2004 survey, of 770 adolescents from age 11 to 19, 20% said they “had experienced cyber-bullying in some form” (Yeung, 2007). The same survey reported that 10% of those adolescents were also victims of having pictures taken by mobile phone posted to the internet without their consent (Yeung, 2007). In an article published in the South China Morning Post Miranda Yeung discusses this issue of children launching internet polls like “10 ugliest or fattest girls in a class” then taking those results and sending it to those “10 ugliest or fattest girls” (Yeung, 2007). This issue of cyber-bullying is serious. For example, recall in 2006 when 13-year-old Megan Meier of Missouri hanged herself because a boy on MySpace said that the world would be better without her. Later it was found out that the boy did not exist and that he was actually an adult posing as a boy (Yeung, 2007). Another issue related to cyber-bullying is not just the act of bullying on the internet but also the act of sexual solicitations. In the article “Cyber-Bullying: Creating a Culture of Respect in a Cyber World” Susan Keith and Michelle Martin (2005) report that 19% of children surveyed by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire reported that they received unwanted sexual solicitations.
As I have mentioned bullying and cyber-bullying are serious issues that need to be addressed. Some states have tackled the issue but have found it difficult. The article “Bullies and bullied more likely hit by crime” published in USA Today stated that “thirty-two states have passed anti-bullying laws,” most since the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School (Koch, 2007). According to The Washington Post most laws concerning cyber-bullying are geared towards school districts, requiring them to create policies on cyber-bullying such as training staff members or discipline of students (Surdin, 2009). Several states have tried to take on the issue of cyber-bullying but most schools hesitate because legal experts say it “is the fine line between protecting students from harassment and observing their right to free speech” (Surdin, 2009).
In Joleen Hanlon’s (2009) article “How Educators Can Address Homophobia in Elementary Schools” she says according to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) State of the States Report eight states (California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia have laws providing legal protection of students based on sexual orientation and only three states (California, Minnesota, and New Jersey) have laws providing legal protection of students based on gender expression or identity while seven states(Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah) have laws that prohibit any positive portrayal of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) issues or people in schools. This leaves many students subject to discrimination based on their sexual orientation or identity without any legal protection. Hanlon (2009) also reports that 64.3% of students feel unsafe in school because of their orientation and 40.7% because of how they express their gender according to the GLSEN 2005 National School Climate Survey.
As I mentioned earlier Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover committed suicide because he was bullied. At school he was often times called gay and referred to as feminine. His mother complained weekly to the school about the daily harassment her son received but nothing was done (GLSEN, 2009). In her article “How Educators Can Address Homophobia in Elementary Schools” Hanlon (2009) reports that 87% of boys who committed school shootings were taunted by anti-gay slurs. This demonstrates that bullying is not just something that affects the target of bullying but can also affect other students in schools. There are various groups that offer support for schools, parents, and bully victims. An example of such a group is the Parents Advocacy Coalition for Education Rights, or PACER (Koch, 2007). There is also an Oregon-based organization that provides research and outreach for parents, educators, and policymakers, the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use (Surdin, 2009). The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network also provides information and resources on how educators, students, and parents can implement anti-bullying programs to improve school climate for all students (GLESN 2011).
In conclusion bullying and cyber-bullying are serious issues that can no longer be ignored by the public. The effect of bullying does vary but can be extreme. Cyber-bullying is a new growing threat of twenty-first century students. Some states and interest groups have begun to mobilize against bullying by developing new laws and policies to protect students from bullying. Bullying is a serious matter that can lead to low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and even death. It is time we take a stand and put an end to the old saying that “sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me.” That is a lie. Words can hurt, in fact the emotional and psychological scars left from words often remain long after physical wounds have healed.
References
Boone, C. & Leslie, K. (April 21, 2009). At vigil for Jaheem, mother weeps over his suicide. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved from http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/2009/04/21/boy_suicide_bullying_decatur.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab.
Fenton, R. (September 30, 2010). Rutgers freshman commits suicide after roommate puts sex tape online. New York Post. Retrieved from http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/cruelcam_costs_kid_life_gKIl4DmNjUdOJ4ZMdNy12N/1.
Friedman, E. (March 1, 2011). Tyler Clementi’s Suicide Prompts Rutgers to Offer Gender Neutral Housing. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/US/rutgers-university-offer-coed-rooms-tyler-clementi-suicide/story?id=13029051.
GLSEN: The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. (2011). Anti-Bullying Resources. Retrieved from http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/antibullying/index.html.
GLSEN: The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. (2009). 11-year-old hangs himself after enduing daily anti-gay bullying. Retrieved June 19, 2011 from http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/news/record/2400.html.
Goldman, R. (March 29, 2010). Teens Indicted After Allegedly Taunting Girl Who Hanged Herself. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/TheLaw/teens-charged-bullying-mass-girl-kill/story?id=10231357.
Hanlon, J. (2009). How Educators Can Address Homophobia in Elementary Schools. Encounter, 22(1), 32-45. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Keith, S., & Martin, M. E. (2005). Cyber-Bullying: Creating a Culture of Respect in a Cyber world. Reclaiming Children & Youth, 13(4), 224-228. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Koch, W. (October 17, 2007). Study: Bullies and bullied more likely hit by crime. USA Today, 2A.
Kornblum, J. (November 19, 2008). Bullying devastates lives: Victims suffer until they find a way to heal. USA Today, 7D.
Monks, C. P., Smith, P. K., Naylor, P., Barter, C., Ireland, J. L., Coyne, I. (2007). Bullying in different contexts: Commonalities, differences and the role of theory. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 147-148.
Standing up to bullies. (April 26, 2007). The Boston Globe, A10.
Stop Cyberbullying. What is Cyberbullying, exactly? Retrieved from http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/what_is_cyberbullying_exactly.html.
Surdin, A. (January 1, 2009). In several states, a push to stem cyber-bullying: Most of the laws focus on schools. The Washington Post, A03.
Yeung, M. (November 26, 2007). Suicide puts cyber-bullying spotlight. South China Morning Post, 6.
