Is Bullying overlooked or overhyped?
As long as kids go to school together in some sort of public setting, bullying will still exist. The question then arises asking this: are we too sensitive to bullying and labeling everything that seems mean as a bullying act or are we too willing to let these issues go? Danah Boyd says in her book It’s Complicated, “Although scholars have examined different aspects of youth-related meanness and cruelty over the past four decades, there is no universal definition of bullying”. This shows that bullying has a lot of gray area mixed throughout. How are we meant to decide how to react if we aren’t sure what the issue is at all?
Bullying is a confusing topic to say the least. It’s hard to differentiate who is the victim, who is to blame, and if there are either of these roles at all. The school and the internet, where most bullying generally occurs, raises many questions about how the environment, peer pressure, and even misunderstanding can be the cause. Because bullying has no absolute definition, playful teasing can be misconstrued as bullying and visa versa. In the end, everyone is affected by bullying and no one ever really comes out of a scandal feeling any better about the situation. This is the exact reason why I ask how much action is correct along with what approach fits best.
Why is bullying such an issue today? Have we become too sensitive as a society or too indifferent about the issue in the past? These questions, unfortunately, leave a lot of room for personal interpretation and general confusion. A world without the ability to poke fun at others and ourselves is a boring one; the same world where no one can have a laugh is equally as sad. Finding a compromise between the two sides must be handled with grace and care. Why is it that people say nasty things about Donald Trump (I won’t say these things aren’t true) and that is considered normal? In comparison, why is 14 year old Rebecca Black receiving similar criticism is bullying? Is it age? Is it the difference between a public figure and an everyday Joe? Bullying is a problem. We just don’t quite know what to do about it yet.
