University Essay: Exploring Bullying and Its Effects on Students

This essay delves into the pervasive issue of bullying among students, examining its various forms, including traditional and cyberbullying. It highlights the severe psychological effects of bullying, such as depression, loneliness, suicidal tendencies, and self-harm, emphasizing the long-term consequences that can extend into adulthood. The essay explores the origins of bullying, potential links to the bullies' past experiences, and the role of mental illness. It also addresses the increasing threat of cyberbullying and its impact on students' mental health and reputation. The essay underscores the importance of awareness, prevention strategies, and therapeutic interventions, including the need for anti-bullying laws and support systems within schools. It provides real-world examples of bullying cases and the devastating outcomes, emphasizing the urgent need to identify and combat bullying to protect students' well-being and future.

Running head: BULLYING AMONG STUDENTS
Bullying Among Students
The Name of the student:
The Name of the University:
Author Note:

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The act of bullying is spreading around the world like cancer irrespective of cultural
boundaries. Bullying is to manipulate and intimidate someone by showing superiority in
strength. A victim of bullying faces several psychological issues, which can lead to suicide.
Bullying generally occurs at school where students call and tease each other by insulting
names; mentally and physically harass the timid ones; and spread rumors. Cyberbullying is a
serious threat to the school safety as it gives more access to bullies to dominate their fellow
students. Damaging personal properties and threats are also considered as bullying.
According to Challenge Discovery Projects, a non-profit organization shows that in every 5
minutes, 47 teenagers are bullied and more than 3.2 billion students are being the victims of
bullying every year.
Bullying originates various psychological issues among students, such as depression,
loneliness, suicidal tendency and self-harming (Hertz et al.). As a result of these mental
problems some students indulge themselves into drug abuse and consuming huge amount of
food. These disorders become very difficult to overcome and stay with the victims even in
their adulthoods. The major effect of bullying is depression as it is the root of many disorders.
Depression makes a person remain detached from their family and peers. They also become
disinterested in life and its daily chores, which affects their grades. Students make excuses to
miss school and even drop out of it, as they are afraid to go back to the toxic environment of
bullying. Students who are teenagers commit suicide majorly because of bullying (Bauman et
al.). Last December, Rosalie Avila, a 13 years old victim of bullying, failed to take her own
life and was living on life support for a few days before getting the final rest ("New Details
About The Awful Bullying 13-Year-Old Rosalie Avila Endured Prior To Her Suicide — And
Why Her Parents Are Suing The School District"). Since she was a girl with a brace, a few of
her classmates made a video to point out the beauty and ugliness by showing her as the ugly
girl. They made the video viral among the school students and on the internet, even after her

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death the bullying did not stop. Indirectly or indirectly, bullying can suggest the victims to
take their own life or harm themselves for some apparent follies. Bullying is a long-term
process that pushes its victims slowly to their ruined future. This should be marked boldly as
to understand the extension of the impact of bullying.
The hostile nature of bullies can be the result of bullying. It is possible that the bullies
themselves had been the victim of bullying at some point of their life. It is found that the
people, who were bullied in their childhood, developed mental disorders later. They also
faced the problem of depression and substance abuse. Mental illness is the sole reason behind
the act of bullying. The person who bullies has as much possibilities to feel lonely and
anxious as the person who is being bullied. Even more, they also have the possibility of being
involved in crime.
Bullying became more dangerous as cyberbullying. The ease of access to social media has
given rise to cyberbullying. Posting and sharing negative comments, uploading a student’s
personal picture or information are some examples of cyberbullying (Sloman). It is not only
humiliating but also destroys the reputation of the targeted person. It is not limited in school
timings, it can happen anytime of a day. The victims of this kind of bullying can become
regular user of alcohol and drug. They suffer from inferiority complex, health issues,
decreasing grades. Young Tyler Clementi jumped of a bridge to kill himself in order to
escape of the cyberbullying that he was facing ("Tyler Clementi's Story • Tyler Clementi
Foundation"). He was being victimized by a video containing intimate moments between him
and another boy. Internet gives access to this invasion of privacy that lead Tyler to his
demise.
Protests against bullying have been going on for several years, yet it is growing day
by day, as most of the victims are afraid to seek help. Once a victim is set as a target, it is
difficult for someone to prevent bullying. Awareness should be spread against bullying,

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letting people know what bullying actually is and when a situation can be labeled as bullying.
Helpline numbers to prevent suicide should be distributed among the students (Borowsky et
al.). Therapeutic treatment in schools with the help of school counselors and teachers
(Bradshaw et al.) can also help the victim to overcome the tormented experience.
Although every state has laws against bullying, cyberbullying does not fall under that
category. The anti-bullying laws state that a school must take action against and to prevent
bullying ("Laws & Policies"). In fact, there are laws that can be applied to the schools if they
fail to protect its students from buying ("Laws & Policies"). Sometimes parents of the victims
who had died file for lawsuit against the schools stating that they had failed them. In the case
of 12 years old Mallory Grossman, the parents had reported to the school that Mallory was
being bullied and asked for their help. Yet the school administration failed to stop bullying
against Mallory and in consequence, she committed suicide ("Parents Sue New Jersey School
District After Daughter's Suicide"). The parents repeatedly urged the school to file a case of
harassment and bullying but they did not bother and eventually Mallory and her parents had
to suffer the consequences.
Bullying is crime that has an extensive effect on its victims. The damage that the
suffering causes stays with the victims even in mature age. Depression is the most effect of
bullying, which sometimes lead to suicidal and self-harming acts. It ruins a student’s social
life and academic future. When a person lacks empathy an understanding of another person’s
problems, the bullying occurs. It is important to identify when a bullying is happening and to
stand up against it. Only that way can a person save themselves from the long-term effects of
bullying. Students have confirmed that verbal bullying is the worst and it being a growing
phenomenon, is difficult to prevent.

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Reference List
"Facts About Bullying :: Challenge Discovery Projects". Challengediscoveryprojects.Org,
2013, http://www.challengediscoveryprojects.org/bullying.html. Accessed 29 June 2018.
"Laws & Policies". Stopbullying.Gov, 2018, https://www.stopbullying.gov/laws/index.html.
Accessed 29 June 2018.
"New Details About The Awful Bullying 13-Year-Old Rosalie Avila Endured Prior To Her
Suicide — And Why Her Parents Are Suing The School District". Yourtango, 2017,
https://www.yourtango.com/2017309286/new-details-bullying-13-year-old-rosalie-avila-
why-parents-suing-school-district. Accessed 29 June 2018.
"Parents Sue New Jersey School District After Daughter's Suicide". Usatoday.Com, 2018,
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/06/20/bullied-child-suicide-parents-
sue-new-jersey-school-district/718210002/. Accessed 29 June 2018.
"Tyler Clementi's Story • Tyler Clementi Foundation". Tyler Clementi Foundation, 2018,
https://tylerclementi.org/tylers-story/. Accessed 29 June 2018.
Bauman, Sheri, Russell B. Toomey, and Jenny L. Walker. "Associations among bullying,
cyberbullying, and suicide in high school students." Journal of adolescence 36.2 (2013): 341-
350.
Borowsky, Iris Wagman, Lindsay A. Taliaferro, and Barbara J. McMorris. "Suicidal thinking
and behavior among youth involved in verbal and social bullying: Risk and protective
factors." Journal of adolescent health 53.1 (2013): S4-S12.
Bradshaw, Catherine P., et al. "Teachers’ and education support professionals’ perspectives
on bullying and prevention: Findings from a national education association study." School
psychology review 42.3 (2013): 280.
Hertz, Marci Feldman, Ingrid Donato, and James Wright. "Bullying and suicide: a public
health approach." Journal of Adolescent Health 53.1 (2013): S1-S3.

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Sloman, Leanne May. "Cyberbullying in Schools." (2014).