Bullying
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggressively dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception that an imbalance of physical or social power exists or is currently present. This perceived presence of physical or social imbalance is what distinguishes the behavior from being interpreted or perceived as bullying from instead being interpreted or perceived as conflict.
Bullying is a subcategory of aggressive behavior characterized by hostile intent, the goal of addressing or attempting to "fix" the imbalance of power, as well as repetition over a period of time.
Bullying can be performed individually or by a group, typically referred to as mobbing, in which the bully may have one or more followers who are willing to assist the primary bully or who reinforce the bully's behavior by providing positive feedback such as laughing. Bullying in school and in the workplace is also referred to as "peer abuse". Robert W. Fuller has analyzed bullying in the context of rankism. The Swedish-Norwegian researcher Dan Olweus stated that bullying occurs when a person is "exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons", and that negative actions occur "when a person intentionally inflicts injury or discomfort upon another person, through physical contact, through words or in other ways". Individual bullying is usually characterized by a person using coercive, intimidating, or hurtful words or comments, exerting threatening or intimidating behavior, or using harmful physical force in order to gain power over another person.
A bullying culture can develop in any context in which humans regularly interact with one another. This may include settings such as within a school, family, or the workplace, the home, and within neighborhoods. When bullying occurs in college and university settings, the practice is known as ragging in certain countries, especially those of the Indian subcontinent. The main platform for bullying in contemporary culture involves the use of social media websites. In a 2012 study of male adolescent American football players, "the strongest predictor was the perception of whether the most influential male in a player's life would approve of the bullying behavior." A study by The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health medical journal in 2019 showed a relationship between social media use by girls and an increase in their exposure to bullying.
Bullying may be defined in many different ways. In the United Kingdom, there is no legal definition of the term "bullying", while some states in the United States currently have laws specifically against it. Bullying is divided into four basic types of abuse: psychological, verbal, physical, and cyber, though an encounter can fall into more than one of these categories.
Behaviors used to assert such domination may include physical assault or coercion, verbal harassment, or the use of threats, and such acts may be directed repeatedly toward particular targets. Rationalizations of such behavior sometimes include differences of social class, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, appearance, behavior, body language, personality, reputation, lineage, strength, size, or ability.
Etymology
The word "bully" was first used in the 1530s, meaning "sweetheart", applied to either sex, from the, "lover, brother", probably diminutive of, "brother", of uncertain origin. The meaning deteriorated through the 17th century through "fine fellow", "blusterer", to "harasser of the weak". This may have been as a connecting sense between "lover" and "ruffian" as in "protector of a prostitute", which was one sense of "bully". The verb "to bully" was first attested in 1710.In the past, in the American culture, the term has been used as an exclamation and exhortation. The term has been especially known famously in association with Theodore Roosevelt. In 1907, Roosevelt coined the phrase as a deprecating term, "bully for him". Currently, in the present day, the bully pulpit refers to the use of a high position to influence the general public's thoughts and to initiate changes. The term "bully" has been significantly modified through the years, and through language translations, it has shifted from terms of endearment to a form of sarcastic jesting, and then to one or more actions made against others, as well as behavior or activity to be fearful of.
Types
Bullying has been classified by the body of literature into different types. These can be in the form of nonverbal, verbal, or physical behavior. Another classification is based on the perpetrators or the participants involved, so that the types include individual and collective bullying. Other interpretation also cite emotional and relational bullying in addition to physical harm inflicted towards another person or even property.This is present in extreme forms of bullying, such as hate crimes. A hate crime is when a perpetrator harms a victim because they perceive them to be a member of an outgroup that they are biased against. Perpetrators often harm victims that are perceived as belonging to a group based on their race, ethnicity, skin color, religion, nationality, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and or disability. Both bullying and hate crimes involve the devaluing and disrespecting of another person for what is deemed or determined by the perpetrator to be justified reasons. Yet, not all bullying is considered to be a hate crime. Bullies often select their victims because of specific characteristics that the bully views as nonconforming to their specific requirements or sense of belonging. This means that individuals in minority groups are more likely to be targeted. However, bullies usually choose victims that are more available and or vulnerable. This is a more broad approach or motivation than with the engagement of hate crimes.
There are also cases being researched now and in the more recent years regarding the phenomenon called "cyberbullying", which takes place in the virtual or electronic world, typically over the internet. Physical, verbal, and relational bullying are most prevalent in primary school and could also begin much earlier while continuing into later stages of individual's lives. The cases of cyberbullying usually start in early adolescence, when the possession, ownership, or occurrence of cellular or mobile devices are more common.
Individual
Individual bullying tactics are perpetrated by a single person against one or more victims. Individual bullying can be classified into four types.Physical
Physical bullying is any bullying that physically harms someone's body or damages their possessions. Stealing, shoving, hitting, kicking, fighting, pantsing, and intentionally destroying someone's property are examples of physical bullying. Physical bullying is rarely the first form of bullying that a victim will experience. Often, bullying will begin in a different form and later progress to physical violence. In physical bullying, the main weapon the bully uses is their body, or some part thereof; or an object as a weapon when attacking their victim. Sometimes groups of young adults will target and alienate a peer because of some adolescent prejudice. This can quickly lead to a situation where they are being taunted, tortured, and "beaten up" by their classmates. Physical bullying will often escalate over time, and can lead to a detrimental or fatal ending, and therefore many try to stop it quickly when such cases are reported or observed in order to prevent any further escalation.Verbal
Verbal bullying is one of the most common types of bullying. This is any bullying that is conducted by speaking, other use of the voice, or some form of body language, and does not involve any form of physical contact. Bullying usually begins at this stage and includes any of the following:- Derogatory name-calling and nicknaming
- Spreading rumors or lying about someone
- Making threats or engaging in threatening behavior toward someone
- Yelling at or talking to someone in a rude or unkind tone of voice, especially without justifiable cause
- Mocking someone's voice or style of speaking
- Laughing at someone
- Use of body language to torment someone
- Making insults or otherwise making fun of someone
Relational
is the type of bullying that uses relationships to hurt others. The term also denotes any bullying that is done with the intent to hurt somebody's reputation or social standing which can also link in with the techniques included in physical and verbal bullying. Relational bullying is a form of bullying common among youth, but more particularly upon girls. Social exclusion is one of the most common types of relational bullying. Relational bullying can be used as a tool by bullies to both improve their social standing and in order to control others. Unlike physical bullying, which is obvious, relational bullying is not overt and can continue for a long time without being noticed.Cyber
Cyberbullying involves the use of technology in order to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person. When an adult is involved, it may meet the definition of cyber-harassment or cyberstalking, a crime that can have legal consequences and possibly involve penalties such as jail time when cases are reported and the perpetrators are legally prosecuted. This includes bullying by use of email, instant messaging, social media websites, text messages, and phone calls from cell phones or mobile devices. It is stated that Cyberbullying is more common in secondary school than in primary school.The internet provides people with limited accountability and often with no filter. Bullying can feel easier and less restrictive through the use of the internet. This phenomenon is described and detailed in a principle, called "the online disinhibition effect". The use of technology for purposes of bullying can be detrimental to someone's online reputation. The information published online will often remain there indefinitely, unless it is taken down or removed by the person who published it, or by moderators of the website or web platform, or by other users. Future employers and other people with access to the internet will be able to see others' digital footprint and how individuals behaved or treated other people - especially if concerted efforts are allocated in order to search for and find any posts, webpages, or content that may negatively impact the target person's evaluation or eligibility for a position. Another problem with cyberbullying is the possibility that other people are able to get involved. Technology, especially the use of social media, allows others to repost or share published content, whether it is positive or negative.