An Objective Glance at Bullying

Adria Freitas

March 14, 2021

Bullying has been an issue in our society in many different forms. Some might think bullying is largely something that happens to kids and teens in school, however, bullying can often take place in public and workplace environments as well. Children are the most “susceptible and vulnerable” to being bullied, but it can affect adults too (Saroyan, 2019). Nowadays, online bullying is also prominent and something that happens every day, so it is likely that almost anyone has been or still is involved in and affected by bullying, whether they are a victim, a bully, or a witness. While it can seem obvious that bullying creates self esteem issues, the impact of bullying is serious enough that the Centers for Disease Control has recognized bullying as “creating significant health problems” (Saroyan, 2019).

There does not appear to be information about a specific time that bullying began, but bullying and ostracization often go hand in hand. Every culture has norms which are “largely agreed upon by most members of a group” (Ferris & Stein, 2020), and people who deviate from these norms are most likely to be subjected to ostracization or bullying, even throughout history. People who are targets of bullying in western culture have often informally been ostracized by the majority of people in whatever group is doing the bullying. Ostracization has happened in many cultures in many different ages, and the act/term can be traced back to Ancient Greece. Originally being ostracized was a formal political process that involved a mass gathering where thousands of society members voted on whether to exile someone, which happened to people who did not follow societal rules, or who were considered dangerous (Cartwright, 2021).

One debate surrounding the issue of bullying is whether or not schools and/or police should enforce rules against bullying, and to what extent they should be enforced. While many people would agree that bullying in the form of physical harm should absolutely be against the rules, I have seen other people argue that simply teasing and excluding someone are not reasons for authority figures or teachers to get involved. Many people take the CDC’s statement that bullying causes health issues seriously and believe that there should be a zero tolerance policy against bullying in schools. The opposition, however, has been insistent that the remedy for bullying is for kids to be taught to stand up for themselves and expected to learn how to deal with the bullying themselves.

Bullying and Ostracization seemed to be a part of many societies throughout history. From a social perspective, one could assume that certain amounts of socially enforced behaviors might be necessary to enforce social boundaries, rules, and even safety. Social pressure is an effective tool that can be used to keep members of society aligned with what is considered normal and safe in a society. This type of socially enforced behavior becomes problematic as soon as an individual is receiving harmful social pressure for anything that is not necessary for the safety of others, or for something the individual is simply unable to change.

References

Cartwright, M. (2021, March 11). Ostracism. World History Encyclopedia.

https://www.ancient.eu/Ostracism/

Ferris, K., & Stein, J. (2020). The real world: An introduction to sociology (7th ed.). W.W.

Norton

Saroyan, J. (2019). Bullying Affects the Core Self of Children. Peace Review, 31(1), 24–33.

https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1080/10402659.2019.1613592