A Handle on your Health; Bullying
Why do we love to pick on each other? This has been a hot topic over the last couple of years. In the news we hear about children committing suicide from being bullied at school and on social media. Bullying doesn’t stop at the steps of school. We also know about Hollywood bullying, especially after the Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey scandals. It’s also in politics, Washington D.C. has had the right and left at it for years. And cable news networks like CNN, MSNBC and Fox news seem to be in a race to see who can be the biggest bully on TV. The negativity abounds.
Bullying can come in many forms, verbal attacks, rumors, cyber-bullying and physical abuse. In one large study, about 49 percent of children in grades 4–12 reported being bullied by other students at school at least once during the past month, whereas 30.8 percent reported bullying others during that time. A Forbes article from 2016 reported as much as 75 percent of workers report being bullied. Cyber-bullying has been getting more attention in the news lately but only accounts for approximately 10 percent of bullying in school ages. Boys are more likely to be involved in physical bullying than girls. Verbal and social bullying are the most frequent types of bullying. Most bullying takes place on school or work grounds but with the invention of the internet, bullying can now take place anywhere at anytime by anyone and can be done almost completely anonymously.
What is bullying? Is there a definition we can all agree on? Isn’t bullying just kids messing with other kids as part of the normal growing up process? Is bullying illegal? Isn’t bullying just another way of saying harassment? But isn’t harassment illegal? If I punch someone is that “bullying” or did I just assault them? Laws have been slow to develop in the area of bullying. Most states, however, now have adopted some kind of “anti-bullying” law. Here in Texas we have David’s Law, which was passed in 2017 and makes certain aspects of bullying, like cyber-bullying a crime. It treats bullying more like harassment under the law. There is still a First Amendment protection of speech, though. You can legally be “mean” to someone in what you say to them or about them and you are protected by the First Amendment. There is a grey area here, though, that is open to interpretation when bullying goes beyond just teasing to becoming illegal. Punching someone was already illegal, if you didn’t already know that.
Research on bullying is an emerging field. What we know for sure is bullying has detrimental effects on the people who get bullied. They suffer from lowered self- esteem, higher rates of depression and anxiety, feelings of loneliness and increased school absenteeism. While suicides in victims of bullying have made national headlines, the rates of suicide directly related to bullying are actually quite low. The groups most at risk for suicide from bullying are gays, transsexuals and children with disabilities. Victims of bullying also struggle with forming relationships with others. These effects can be short term but often go into adulthood.
The bullies are affected too. They are at higher risk of anti-social behavior, such as vandalism, shoplifting, fighting, drug and alcohol use, and dropping out of school. Research shows there is no single cause of bullying. Rather it is a combination of factors from the individual, their family, friends and school environment. So it makes it difficult to predict who is at risk for becoming a bully.
The good news is, overall, aggression among teens is down. Aggressive behavior in adults is also down since the 90s. Anti-bullying measures are effective. Some studies by psychologists show a reduction of 50 percent in schools that adopt anti-bullying programs. Workplace programs have also been very effective at reducing bullying. Prevention is the goal here and education about bullying and its effects as well as changing perceptions about bullying. Open lines of communication, especially between students and adults, creating a culture of respect, encouraging bystanders to intervene when they witness bullying and having consistently applied consequences for those who engage in bullying behavior are all measures that seem to be effective at reducing bullying. Zero tolerance and expulsion techniques have not been effective, however.
Bullying is nothing new. Schoolyard bullying has been around as long as there have been schools. “Picking” on each other is an innate behavior and like most behaviors, it lies on a spectrum. It can be harmless fun among friends on one end of the spectrum to terrifying, life-threatening fear on the other. It is our job to raise a society that believes in mutual respect. You can’t be so self-centered that you have no regard for the feelings of others but you also can’t be too “thinned skin” so that every little criticism is taken as bullying.
One last thought on cyber-bullying. As I mentioned earlier, it is a special case. This is a particularly troubling type of bullying because it allows you to conduct it at a distance. You can be a coward and bully someone from the safety of your computer or cell phone. You can post horrible lies or comments about someone on the internet for all to see. Often you can recruit others to do the same. You can create a crippling campaign of smear and hate on the Internet with little to no repercussions. Your ability to get into college or get hired in a new career can be impacted by what is said about you or by you on the internet. So please think before you post things on the internet. Be engaged with your legislators regarding new laws needed regulating the internet. Intervene when you witness bullying.
Society’s mental health is counting on us. Feel Better.
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Dr. John Turner is a family medicine and emergency medicine doctor with 25 years of experience. He is also the owner of My Primary Care Clinic and My Emergency Room 24/7 here in Hays County. Dr. Turner may be reached at 512-667-6087.
