Bulling is not only physical

By Astrid Beato

Cyber bullying is any harassment that occurs via the Internet. It can be a variety of posting fake profiles on web sites, vicious form of posts, name calling in chat rooms, and mean, cruel and threatening email messages are all ways of cyber bullying. 

Teenagers now-a-days spend a lot of time on the Internet. It’s either on instant messenger chat, uploading photos, videos, etc. They may also have online friends that maybe they’ve never met in person to play online games and exchange messages. Therefore the Internet is an easy way for anyone to be a victim of cyber bullying, especially teenagers. Cyber bullies either pretending they are different people from themselves to spread lies and rumors, send or forward mean messages, post pictures of their victims without their consent or trick other people into revealing personal information to send out to the public.According to cyber bullying statistics from the i-SAFE foundation: over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number are cyber bullying.1 in 3 teens have experienced cyber threats online and also over half of young people do not tell their parents when they are being cyber bullied.

On the good side, there are ways for cyberbully victims to react; the victims can either block complete communication with the cyberbully, deleting the messages without reading them, talking to a friend or reporting the problem to the Internet service provider. Also the victims can save all the communication and harassment of them being bullied as evidence and talk to a trustworthy adult, law enforcement and or parent to find and stop the cyberbulling. So if anyone knows a person that is a victim of cyber bulling or maybe yourself seek help you’re not the only one.

Here is a link of some stories of other people being cyber bullied,  http://familyinternet.about.com/u/ua/computingsafetyprivacy/Cyberbullyua.htm

 Here is also a short video of Sophie's story.

Bullying

By: Haneefa Robinson


     Bullying is an act of violence and a form of abuse. It is repeated acts over time attempting to create and/or enforce one's person power over another. It is an issue that is not always looked upon. Therefore, I decided to talk about the issue for my organic post. It seems as though no one ever puts themselves in the person's shoes and want to lend out their hand for help. Being bullied can make a child feel sick and unwanted.



Most people see being bullied as being weak. Although, that is not always the case. In some cases the bully is smaller than the person they are bullying. Sometimes that person just may always be quiet, therefore the bully may feel that they are superior of the other and in that case can "beat" them. In this video the one being bullied is in fact bigger than his bully, and he has become fed up and has had enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdaOicJ8xUU&feature=youtu.be
   
  According to a survey released by Josephson Institute, states that 50% of high schoolers have admitted to have been bullied or been the bullier. That's half and outrageous! Researchers surveyed 43,321 teens aged between 15 to 18 from 78 different public schools and 22 private schools about bullying. Frightfully, around 24% feared school and find school unsafe and an unhappy place to be. While 28% of students (37 percent of boys and 19 percent of girls) felt violence was ok in school. The problem is, violence isn’t just limited to verbal threats anymore. The study found that 52% had physical reaction of anger in the past year. The study doesn’t get any better either. The bully study showed that 10% of students studied had carried a weapon to school.
   
      In conclusion, school is not a place to tease or pick on others, it is in fact, a place to learn. It should be the one place kids can go and not have to "watch their backs". Being bullied is a serious issue, and it extremely affects the person that the act is on. People should not one to bully others,instead they should want to find a common ground with poeple they dislike and be civil. I guess life is not perfect and that's too much to ask for in today's society.

Suicide Among the Youth

By: Brittanie DeShields

For my organic post I have decided to do it on teen suicide. This has always been something that has bothered me very much. Many people don't understand what these people go through especially if they have never been in this situation. When a person comes to anyone about being suicidal it is their way of asking for help because they trust that person will not judge them. They also don't realize IT IS OKAY TO ASK FOR HELP!!... I wish some would realize this sooner than later.

According to the American Association of Suicidology:

• Each year, there are approximately 10 youth suicides for every 100,000 youth.
• Each day, there are approximately 12 youth suicides.
• Every 2 hours and 11 minutes, a person under the age of 25 completes suicide.
• In 2005, 270 children ages 10 to 14 completed suicide in the U.S.

Most teens have so many things going on in their lives and so much pressure put on them that many people don't realize when they are not okay. They feel as if they have no other choice but to agree to doing everything to please others but they aren't focusing on themselves. If they are being bullied at school, having problems at home, failing school, a victim of abuse, anything that triggers them to not feel worthy will leave them feeling completely helpless. These are all things that lead to depression which plays a large role in suicide. This is when they need help the most!

http://www.suicidology.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=232&name=DLFE-24.pdf

The above link has many more statistics and other useful information. I hope we can all just find a way to help save someones life if they come to any of us looking for help.

In or Out

By: Paul Barolette 


Today our society is infamous for creating social groups and labeling those who may seem different. It starts at a very young age, making friends that we may deem “fun” or “cool”, shunning, and ridiculing those we find “strange” or “weird”. The groups that we involve our selves with have a tremendous impact on our lives. Throughout our lifetime we face these social groups everyday whether it’s in our high schools, jobs or colleges. As individuals we cannot help but label others, it sometimes seems that this is a trait that we cannot elude, whether it is for better or worse. These social groupings have affected the behaviors of adolescents, in the form of bullying. There have been many incidents involving adolescents with bullying, the most recent in Philadelphia.(http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=7932673)Many have tried to explain the forming social groups and their behaviors, social physiologist Henri Tajfel discovered that we as a society have a tremendous ability of forming in groups and out groups within a matter of minutes. People tend hold positive attitudes towards their own groups, while having bias opinions on others. These social groupings can come in many different ways, race, culture, gender and religion just to name a few. The affect that groupings have on individuals is also relevant. Many times when we encounter a new place, or school, individuals always seem to be attracted to those of the same skin color or ethnicity. We feel safe as individuals many times in groups, and often these groups can be for the worse. What are your thoughts on this issue?