What is Bullying?
To combat bullying effectively, it’s essential to establish a shared understanding of what bullying truly is. At Sweethearts & Heroes, we often emphasize this through our first Bully Button, Perspective. Before exploring solutions, we must first align on the facts.
Bullying has existed since the dawn of civilization, rooted in complex social and psychological factors. While it’s impossible to pinpoint a single cause or eliminate all contributing factors, we can focus on what is within our control.
Research shows that 85% of bullying incidents occur in front of bystanders, yet only about 10% of peers intervene (source). In 2015, the National Center for Education Statistics reported that 20% of students aged 12 to 18 had been bullied (source).
Defining Traditional Bullying
Sweethearts & Heroes defines a bully as “a blustering, quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually and intentionally badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people.” This definition highlights four critical elements:
Bullying is habitual: Bullying is not a one-time occurrence. It involves repeated actions over weeks, months, or years, reinforcing harmful beliefs in those targeted.
Bullying involves fear or intimidation: Fear is the hallmark of bullying. Alarmingly, 160,000 students skip school daily due to the fear of being bullied (source).
The target feels smaller or weaker: This perception of vulnerability is key. It isn’t always about physical size or strength; it could relate to anything that sets someone apart, such as ethnicity, economic status, parental relationships, intelligence, talents, or appearance.
Bullying is intentional: Not all disrespectful or hurtful actions are bullying. Kids often act out based on emotions, creating teachable moments to guide them through their feelings. True bullying, however, is deliberate and purposeful, with the intent to harm.
Bullying takes many forms, including physical, verbal, relational, and now cyberbullying.
Physical Bullying: This involves harming someone’s body or possessions. Examples include hitting, kicking, or destroying belongings.
Verbal Bullying: Using words to harm others, like teasing, name-calling, or making inappropriate sexual comments.
Social Bullying: Also known as relational bullying, this involves damaging someone's reputation or relationships. It includes spreading rumors, embarrassing someone publicly, or excluding them from a group.
Cyberbullying: This type of bullying happens online through social media, texts, or emails. It involves sending mean messages, spreading rumors online, or posting hurtful images or videos.
Cyberbullying: A Modern Challenge
As Aldous Huxley might say, we’re navigating a Brave New World. While traditional face-to-face bullying remains common, technology has introduced a new, pervasive form: cyberbullying. According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, nearly one in four teenagers has been bullied online, and almost one in six admits to being a cyberbully (source).
The digital age has amplified the challenges of bullying:
Kids are immersed in technology: Many grow up with smartphones, social media, and internet access.
There’s no reset button: A single online incident can escalate into habitual bullying.
The audience is global: The internet amplifies bullying, making it visible to a wide audience.
Bullying becomes immortalized: Once online, harmful actions and words are often permanent.
What Can We Do?
At Sweethearts & Heroes, we believe the key lies in empowering bystanders to take action. Bystanders hold the key to ending bullying. Studies show that when peers intervene, they are successful 57% of the time (source).
Bystanders have a powerful opportunity called The Moment - the first 10 seconds of a distressing incident such as bullying. By Jumping into Action and using their superpowers, they can stop bullying in its tracks. While it takes courage and vulnerability to act when others won’t, the risks of not stepping in are far greater.