The Effects of Bullying

        Bullying is a problem experienced all around the world. At one point of another, everyone has experienced being bullied or have seen other people being bullied. Bullying can be anywhere from name calling to inflicting harm and intimidating another kid. Depending on the extent of the bullying, every kid is going to take it differently. Stopbullying.gov says that, “Bullying is linked to many negative outcomes including impacts on mental health, substance use, and suicide”. Kids in America that have been bullied growing up, have been prone shown to be effects in their adult life. 

          Most notably one of these effects is their mental health. The Effects Of Bullying writes that, “Some kids are so tormented that suicide has become an alternative for them”. As sad as this is to hear, it is very true. They also listed most of the mental effect bullying has on children including that kids have a, “Decreased academic achievement – GPA and standardized test scores – and school participation. They are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school.” 10 Ways for Adults to Heal From Childhood Bullying by Sherri Gordon writes that, “Victims of bullying often deal with a host of health issues including, anxiety issues, eating disorders, headaches, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and stress conditions”.

          Another effect could include problems with confidence. The article What are the adult health consequences of childhood bullying? did study which shows that 44.2% of cases are associated with some sort of name calling and 43.4% of cases are associated with teasing. This will most likely cause kids that were bullied to become more self-conscious in their later years. While some will end up growing out of this self-conscious bubble, others can’t seem to pop their bubble and get out.

            Victims of bullying may experience a lack in motivation as well in their later years. The same article also goes to write, “Victims of bullying were also found to be more likely to be unemployed, earn less and have lower educational levels than people who had not been bullied. They were also less likely to be in a relationship or have good social support”. With bullied kids potentially dropping out of school to avoid these bullies, it reflects heavily of their later years with it being harder on them to find a good job, let alone one that pays well. They further go on to write that, “People who had been bullied were more likely to report lower quality of life and life satisfaction than their peer who had not been bullied”.

          “Bullied teens more likely to smoke, drink and use drugs … Children who are bullied in fifth grade are more likely to become depressed and experiment with drugs and alcohol during their teen years than their peers who weren’t victimized by other kids, a U.S. study suggests”. Lisa Rapaport writes on Bullied teens more likely to smoke, drink and use drugs. “Researchers followed almost 4,300 students starting in fifth grade, when they were around 11 years old. By tenth grade, 24 percent of the teens drank alcohol, 15 percent smoked marijuana and 12 percent used tobacco”. This increase of alcohol and drugs can many more problems as well.

            People will say that kids will just tend to forget about what happened in their childhood as they grow up; while this may be true, some never do. “I'm 40 years old now; it's been something like 30 years since that sort of thing last happened. Still, the experience has not left me, it sucked so much” from a post titled The Long Term Effects of Bullying. The things the bully has said to this person have lived with them for 30+ years. “Inevitably, it is the sensitive kids who get singled out for teasing; the kids who cry easily; the easy targets”.

          Going throughout my school career, you start to see a pattern of the same people getting bullied and the same bullies doing it. You may say that “They should just ask someone for help”. While this works, most kids are too scared to speak up and say anything. Same thing goes for anyone watching it happening because of something called the Bystander Effect. The Bystander Effect most commonly occurs when people are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present. This is most common in schools because kids do not want to speak up and become to bullies next victim.

          Seeking counseling when it comes to bullies is always a great idea. For those who are young, setting up meetings with counselors of your school can help the situation. The CyberSmile Foundation is dedicated to helping situations like these. Also, if you see bullying happen, never be afraid to speak up about it.

          Kids in America that have been bullied growing up, have been prone to show problems with mental health, confidence, and motivation. Bullying is a big problem in the world and with kids getting devices at younger ages, they are more likely encounter a bully or become one.