Bullying in schools has become a national dilemma. It affects students and makes many students not feel safe. Bullying has both short term and long term effects on the victim as well as the bully. Most of these problems will start in middle school and continue throughout high school. Many schools have a zero tolerance for harassment; however, many of these schools do not follow their own rules. Students are bullied in all sorts of places such as, the hallway, locker room, bus, and the classroom. Teens who are bullied are usually teased, threatened, mugged, or hit. There can be physical or nonphysical bullying that both have the same emotional effect.

One of the worst types of bullying is when a girl torments another girl. Even though it usually is not physical, the psychological effects are horrid. Rumors and social isolation are the tactics in which girls use to bully. In today’s society, bullies will use technology to spread rumors and make up stories that can ruin someone’s life. Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter are all social websites that can be used by bullies to spread rumors and to say harsh words to or about the victim. Statistics show that about one half of teens have been harassed online and the same amounts of teens have been the intimidators. Those who are bullied online feel vulnerable, so only one in ten teens who are being bullied will tell their parents. Exclusion from a group is a fear that a majority of teen girls have. Most of them want to fit in somewhere and when they are bullied, they feel isolated and alone. In most cases, the mean girls are the popular ones in which many people wish to be friends with for their looks, or what they think is their personality. For example the movie, Mean Girls (2004), it shows how rich and popular girls are the ones that everyone wants to be friends but in reality the girls are mean to every person in their school. This movie is also an example on how to stop harassment; however some of the ways are extreme. Male bullies tend to be more physical rather than psychological. They get into physical fights and often yell and swear at victims.

Many studies have shown that an average of 15% of students have been bullied regularly. In some cases, the bully may have their own personal backgrounds that make them be mean to others. Some of them want to have a sense of control or power and to feel accomplished or satisfied from seeing someone else suffer. Sometimes, bullies come from bad homes which do not teach them any better than to denote others. Parents are a major influence in this problem. They are responsible for teaching their children correct morals, values, and how to act with other children. In some cases, parents are clueless that their children are involved in those matters therefore they will do nothing about it. Students who are antagonists talk back to adults and often have strong self esteem. On the other hand, victims of bullies have bad anxiety and low self esteem which makes them vulnerable.

Studies have also shown that in the future, bullies tend to be involved in illegal activities. Victims who become depressed can have that depression carry out into their adult years. Being afraid to go to school because they do not feel safe is something that schools should be more aware of. Kids are often bullied on the bus, which can be worse when the bus driver does not take any action to fix the problems. Another major problem with bullying is when a special needs child is bullied. This can be one of the worst examples of bullying because someone is making fun of someone’s disabilities that they cannot change or control. Other students who are not affected by the bullying often do nothing about it because they are afraid of being bullied themselves. It only takes one person to stand up to a bully and to put an end to it for good.

There are many ways to prevent bullying in schools. If schools were more aware of students being bullied, maybe students will all be nice to each other which will lower problems. Schools need to have Victims of bullies should be offered counseling programs at school or even a club in which victims would be allowed to go to help fix their anxiety as well as raise their self esteem. Bullying in schools can be stopped if taken the right precautions.