Today's Bullies

I’d like to take a moment and discuss bullying again. I’ve read several comments from people stating that they were bullied when they were younger and it really isn’t that big of a deal. I think people should speak for themselves. Some people can be bullied and emerge relatively unscathed where as others can be bullied and be scarred for the rest of their lives. People are different, because of that simple fact it is possible for people to react differently to the same stimuli. I’d also like to point out that the bullying experienced by my generation is nothing compared to the bullying of this generation. Sure some things haven’t changed, such as taunting people, physically harassing them and pretty much tormenting them when they were at school or on the school bus, but lots of other things have. Social media has given way to a whole new level of harassment. Not only can bullies beat you up, but they can now record it and share it with any and every one they want to share it with. They can document your harassment or humiliation and use it to torment you again and again. They can create fake Facebook pages that are dedicated to ripping you apart one comment at a time. They can hide their numbers and send vicious text messages to your phone. They can change their names and become your friend or your follower online, just to use that information against you. Not only does this current generation have too much time on its hands, but it has too much technology at its fingertips. In the old days, home was a safe place, but now, unless you’re going to stay away from the computer and your cell phone, bullying invades every part of your life, even your house. Anyone who says the bullying of today is the same as the bullying that occurred twenty years ago, is obviously not familiar with cyberbullying. The core actions of the bully are the same, and much of the physical abuse is the same, but now there is a pervasive and sometimes relentless barrage of mental abuse that is delivered by technology. Today’s bullies can only be compared to yesterday’s bullies if yesterday’s bullies were on steroids and were able to hide their identities at will.