Bullying Amongst Kids Bullying Among

Bullying Amongst Kids

Bullying among kids

The challenge of bullying among kids has been a subject of discussion for a good number of years and solutions to this has always been elusive since the bullying trend keeps changing each day. The bullies shift from one form to the other and even embracing the latest technologies like the internet of late to perpetuate their vices. Kathleen P. a, (2013:4) of University of Rochester defines bullying as the "repeated exposure of an individual or group to negative interactions & #8230;by one or more dominant persons. The person enjoys the discomfort and shame of the victim as if in a sadomasochistic ritual enacted for the perverse public enjoyment of an audience of bystanders who do nothing and may vicariously be aroused as bullies or victims"

It is worth noting here that most bullying cases among young children takes place within the schools and other social places or institutions. This is where there is group interaction and the temptation to form hierarchies exists in such settings. The structure of bullying is quite complex to decipher, however, there are guidelines that have been suggested by several scholars on the same that helps identify the vice and the structure it takes.

Gordon W.B., (2012) indicates that there are three primary feature that define bullying; it has the intent to do harm, it is repetitive in nature and that there is a power imbalance between the victim and the bully. Bullying hence has adverse effects on the victims in terms of their academic achievement, the physical health of the victim, self-esteem is compromised and the social life is affected too. There is a possibility of such acts of bullying leading to some adverse long-term effects like depression, anxiety, alienation as well as suicidal tendencies.

Bullying has ben observed by Gordon to be a concept that is not haphazard but has a social structure within which the acts are executed. Within the structure is the Bully, then there is the victim, then the bully-victim and the bystanders. The bully is usually the bigger pupil who often uses foul language; they normally have internalized problems and have academic challenges. Among the girls, they are normally the popular ones, who may be student-athlete, class leader or even the teachers' favorite.

The victims are often the weak ones and very shy, more sensitive and silent most of the time. They have poorer social skills as compared to others and not talk freely. The victims can also be in two categories, some are passive and do not respond to the aggressor, yet others are active and will respond to the aggressor, though 80% of the victims are passive.

The provocative or active victims are the ones referred to as the bully-victim. They often strike back at the aggressor and often adopt coping responses that may be a copy of the behavior portrayed by the bully and unfortunately these may be projected towards others.

The final character in this chain is the bystander. These are the witnesses that are actually needed the bully to witness the cruelty and the power struggle between the bully and the victim. These by standers usually come in form of cheerleaders, protector for the victim and the silent onlookers. It is worth noting that all those involved in the chain, and even those not directly mentioned here still get affected by the vice of bullying.

It is therefore important to look at what forms of conflict are manifest from a bullying scenario and experience among the little children in school. There is the most traumatizing and openly evidence form of conflict manifest in bullying which is physical violence. This may involve hitting, pushing, shoving, kicking, beating, bumping into the victim and several other violent modes. There is then the verbal conflict which though not hurting physically has psychotically repercussions and may be in the form of put-downs, use of abusive language, calling names, shouting at victim, use of unpleasant and suggestive sounds towards victim among other forms. There is the other form that is targeting the social stability of the victim which is relational alienation which comes in the form of spreading rumors about a victim, intentionally and maliciously alienating a victim from a social group, peer discrimination, branding of victims among other manifestations that can come with alienation. There is also the other form of conflict which is categorized as cyber bullying which is a common thing in the contemporary society bearing the ease of access and the possibility of anonymity that lies behind it. This can be in the form of sending texts to the victim, tweeting and the various other social media hubs and generally the use of any technology, taking advantage of its anonymous nature, to inflict psychological pain on another person.