WHY DO BULLIES BULLY?

Bullying can happen anywhere at anytime to anyone. This unwanted aggressive behaviour can very severely affect the emotional stability and well being of anyone who suffers it. Although we are all aware that people keep bullying others, we often do nothing about it. But why do some people feel the need to treat someone else so poorly?

From an early age children are taught to compete with their friends and classmates, both in and out of school. They are constantly congratulated on being better than someone else and taught to seek to be the best at everything they can. In this general competitive environment children learn that being the leader is the safest way to make sure you are never left behind. That exact desire is what often leads kids to point out differences or weaknesses in other people. By doing this they aren’t just making their friends laugh, but they are also establishing their power amongst their friends and making sure that nobody picks out their weaknesses.

It’s these very causes that perhaps suggest a way out of this growing problem. Children could be encouraged to respect differences by looking at them as a quality instead of a weakness. It’s common knowledge that children will copy what they see at home, which is why parents should be constantly conscious of being a good model. Also, as school is one of the most important aspects of a child’s development process, I think bullying awareness should be a topic often spoken about. But maybe instead of informative videos, schools could start a campaign organised by the kids, in which instead of being bombarded with information they don’t want, they could actively participate in stopping bullying and be rewarded for doing so.

It is often very hard to tell the difference between actual bullying and light hearted teasing, which is one of the main reasons people often don’t do anything to stop it. But one thing is certain, in a context in which it’s clear that someone is being treated differently with explicit reason of undermining them, it is our responsibility to do something.