So, I haven't been in a situation where bullying even happens for a really long time so I'm wondering how much it still happens to you guys who are younger?

How much does it happen?

Is cyber-bullying a real problem now?

Do you know anyone who has attempted to or actually committed suicide because of bullying?

I bring this up because there was an attempted suicide by a 10 year old who was bullied at school and around his home by a kid. He got so fed up that he tried to kill himself by jumping from a third story window. Most kids don't know that you'll survive that fall a lot more likely than you will die from it. Especially if you're seen doing it and get help right away.

I'm curious to hear thoughts about this though. I'm having kids and I want to know how much of a problem you guys think it is (or was for you if you're older now like me )

Words hurt, weather online or not, and can be far worse than any physical damage inflicted. As a general rule, bullying isn't a huge deal. Kids will be kids, and you can't stop them from fighting all the time. Sometimes, however, it just goes way too far. The internet has made this easier because you are more anonymous, and can get away with far more without repercussion.

edit: punctuation

It would not leave me to suicide but rather homicide. When your in school especially high school if someone starts talking trash you will have an urge to get a gun and shoot their head off.

They like picking on loners a lot or if you look or act different then the rest of the cattle.

Internet bullying is just as bad but the good thing about the internet is you can get away from bullying anytime you want while in school your pretty much forced to live through it.

Guess it depends on the type of person.

1. The defenseless types who will commit suicide over it.
2. The kind who will hold it inside, shrug it off and do nothing.
3. The kind who get pushed to limit and just dont give a fk anymore they will do anything in their power to seek revenge.

Bullying is a big deal, parents say to ignore it or go to the teachers for help. They don't help one bit I know. Your best bet is teaching the bullies a lesson or just staying in a more fit environment like home.

Adding to some of jigsaw's remarks, type 1, the defensless type is naturally the bullies' choice. A more timid, less dominating person is what they look for. The victim then feel's even worse and get's more weak, making the bullies even more agressive, seeing they found someone they can act all tough around.

Have I seen some? Yes, I was bullied a little by one of my "friends" for a few years, and while I tried to get away from him, it was hard (which is why I feel cyber bullying is less of a threat). Eventually when I maned up later in high school, my confidence killed the bully.

But Gee, I'm sure kids have it worse than me, and know one else around them realizes. No one realized that I was getting bullied, it was so subtle. So in answer to your questions: Yes, I think it's can be a big problem, because (1) it's not always easy to detect,(2) the victim gets caught in a vicious cycle, and(3) it's hard to avoid at times.

I agree with JigSaw that the best way to stop a bully is usually a punch in the mouth. However, simply avoiding a bully completely may not be enough because they can still destroy your reputation with rumors.

I think that bullying is a problem because it could increase stress and also that it can make you look bad.

It's obviously still out there and it probably always will be.
But I don't see how this cyberbullying works.
It's not that hard to ignore messages or block people that talk crap to you.
I can see how physical bullying works because it's almost impossible to get away from it, although I've never really been a victim.

I'm sure most kids now have a myspace or facebook as well as e-mail addresses. While you can generally set up myspace and facebook to ignore people you want to keep away from.... once someone has your e-mail address it's impossible to stop them from sending a message. All you need is a new e-mail address every time you want to send a message.

And I'm sure there are other places like Vizzed that people hang out at that could be used to bully people. And not all kids are as internet savvy as the people here. I know for sure at 14 I didn't know much about the internet.... not that it was anything like it is now

Heh, yeah I guess.
All we need is to raise the awareness.
We get told how to stay away from old pedo men but never how to stop or ignore messages from people you know.
It's all about the awareness I think.

to a degree.... but think about it for a minute. The same people who bully you at school are now bullying you over the internet when you're at home. Instead of being a safe place it is now just another place they can torment you.

A lot of kids don't know how to deal with it. Most kids don't know how to deal with regular bullying at school and cyber-bullying can be even tougher if the person doing the bullying is smarter, or has access to someone smarter, than the person being bullied.

Some of you didn't mention the most important key points

People that tend to bully others are usually victims by some sort of trauma such as physical neglect/abuse....but there can be many other contributing factors

Basically, bullies are actually victims themselves, by any sort of chaotic traumatizing experiences that they've endured. Which can lead a person to act out & repeat what they've seen or been through on other people

joebab mentioned awareness, this is what people should be aware of because this is true fact

that is a good point. That is something I wanted brought up at some point.

Quite often the person who needs the most help/counseling etc is the person actually doing the bullying. They are the ones with the more serious long-term problem. Usually the people getting bullied will get over the bullying once it stops... but the bully quite often has a lingering problem or issue to work out.

Originally posted by Lagslayer

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Words hurt, weather online or not, and can be far worse than any physical damage inflicted. As a general rule, bullying isn't a huge deal. Kids will be kids, and you can't stop them from fighting all the time. Sometimes, however, it just goes way too far. The internet has made this easier because you are more anonymous, and can get away with far more without repercussion.

edit: punctuation

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This is so true, words stick with a person more then an ass whooping at times, not all but in seems to be the case alot. Words when directed in harm can take affect psychologically on people and affect ones emotions. While an ass-whooping can do this too, usually an ass-whooping doesn't happen without words being exchanged in the first place. The thing with bullying is, the bully is looking for someone who is weak so as long as the person being bullied remains strong, uses logic, and courage, in the end he should be fine...because like they say "You won the battle, but in the end you lose the war" well then in this case you can make that a fact....

Originally posted by vince212010

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Some of you didn't mention the most important key points

People that tend to bully others are usually victims by some sort of trauma such as physical neglect/abuse....but there can be many other contributing factors

Basically, bullies are actually victims themselves, by any sort of chaotic traumatizing experiences that they've endured. Which can lead a person to act out & repeat what they've seen or been through on other people

joebab mentioned awareness, this is what people should be aware of because this is true fact

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Not always. Some bullies bully people just to make themselves look hard. They think that by bullying someone it will increase their rep with people.

And as for Cyber Bullying... It shouldn't really affect people because you can block email addresses, and block people on facebook and all those social networking sites. Physical bullying, as in bullying in person, is a lot more effective than cyber bullying. The most cyber bullying can do is annoy the crap outta you because the person doing the bullying just doesn't stop. Whilst with physical bullying can cause you emotional pain because if you see said person in school or whatever you can't really get away from them.

Even though I've been out of school for over a year now I still have some side effects from bullying. I find it hard to trust people, I have social phobias which are interferring with my life (makes it real hard to get a job), and it takes a long time to get past my walls. I also discovered that the bullied can actually become bullies themselves. Sort of makes you feel more in control of things but luckily i was smart enough to stop doing it before I ended up hurting someone. They tell you to ignore the bully, they generally do get bored at some point and go away but there insults stay with you. They also tell you to tell an adult, which may work will your in a classroom but you get twice the bullying later. The best thing to do is to get some really good friends to help you through it, plus bullies are less likely to go after groups because in reality they're cowards with even more problems than you.

"The best thing to do is to get some really good friends to help you through it, plus bullies are less likely to go after groups because in reality they're cowards with even more problems than you."

I think that is the real key to surviving bullying. Find friends that like the things you do and can support you. There isn't much you can do about bullying in some situations. Sometimes you just can't get away from it.... but long term I think having a solid group of friends to rely on and hang out with can help. People you can trust.

I hate bullying... there is some at my school and I HATE it... That is why I like to go onto vizzed after school... Cyberbullying is a real big problem, so I am glad that there is no such problem on vizzed...

That's another good thing to do. Find an escape like the vizzedboard. Mine was videogames. Just be sure not to get lost in it.

It's not what you would necessarily call "bullying", but to go along with the idea of words hurting more than physical pain, I would have much rather had my dad hit me or spank me as a child than say the degrading things he would sometimes let out at me. A bruise goes away. The emotional scars of some harsh words never really do.

Middle is likly were bullying will acure. I know this because I'm a libary worker there and I wear braces and
I at the point were I'm not going to take that crap anymore and going to stop it once and for all.