Bullying is still one of the many social problems we face today. Even with the many campaigns and socialization explaining the dangers of bullying, these actions can still be found in many educational environments. Many people tend to see bullying as a harmless joke, or as a part of the process of growing up. If seen closely, the impact is serious and can affect a person’s life even in the long term. Schools should be a safe and comfortable place to learn, develop, and build friendships. However, with the existence of bullying, the function of the school as a safe place becomes disrupted.
In general, bullying is behavior that aims to hurt, humiliate, and embarrass others intentionally, and these acts of bullying do not always take the form of physical violence. There are several types of bullying that often occur in schools. First, physical bullying such as hitting, kicking, and pushing people. Second, verbal bullying such as taunting and insults, as well as calling people by demeaning names. Third is social bullying, where someone is expelled from a group, or intentionally ignored. Bullying also occurs in the cyber world, called cyberbullying, where these acts of bullying are carried out on social media, such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Most cases of bullying start from trivial things. Such as joking about appearance, way of speaking, or family background. The action might be considered funny by a group of people, but it can be very painful for the victim. If this is done repeatedly, the victim can become depressed and feel a lack of self-confidence. Many victims of bullying choose to remain silent for fear that the situation will get worse if they report it. There are also those who are afraid of being considered too sensitive, or unable to take a joke.
Most cases of bullying occur in schools which should be places for students to gain knowledge. Schools should be safe places to learn and develop oneself. Victims often feel fear which causes anxiety and a sense of discomfort or insecurity towards their school environment. Bullying affects the school atmosphere, and when bullying occurs, the school atmosphere can turn terrifying for the victims. First, other students who witness bullying behavior firsthand will feel afraid of becoming the next victim. This is what makes them stay silent, creating a habit of letting it happen, and the worst-case scenario is that bullying can become a common occurrence in schools and possibly without the knowledge of the teachers in charge. In addition, relationships between students become disharmonious; they tend to form their own groups that they feel make them safe.
The impact of bullying also cannot be underestimated. Bullying has many negative impacts for the victim and the perpetrator, but the main impact will be felt more by the victim. The first impact is Psychological; this impact is the very first and most frequent because when someone becomes a victim of bullying, the things that hurt them will go directly into their brain or mind. Victims will more often feel afraid, especially afraid of meeting the perpetrator. They also frequently feel anxious and even lose self-confidence, and this can lead to feelings of depression or resignation to the situation. In some cases, victims even start to hurt themselves. Victims will also feel lonely and unsupported more often, so their mental condition will get worse. Second is the social impact. The impact is the largest and most influential on the victim’s daily life. This is because most of them will start to withdraw or distance themselves from their surroundings, thus spending more time alone. Because of this, victims become increasingly isolated from their environment, and they will find it difficult to establish relationships with others.
Bullying not only impacts the mental condition and mind of the victim, but can also impact academics or school life. Such as feeling difficulty concentrating when in class because the fear of bullying behavior continues to disturb their mind, which makes the victim feel unenthusiastic about going to school, and grades continue to decline. Then the most visible impact is the physical impact. On average, victims of bullying receive unpleasant physical treatment. Such as bruises or injuries inside parts of the body and so on. In addition, it also affects them when they sleep, because of course sleeping with pain will not make our sleep feel sound. There are also illnesses that stem from their minds as a body reaction to psychological pressure.
In the long term, bullying that is not immediately handled can cause trauma until the future. This makes it increasingly difficult for the victim to forget the pain they once received and recovery will be hard to achieve. Such as excessive anxiety disorders, difficulty establishing relationships or simply communicating, lack of confidence, and can even increase the risk of mental damage in the future.
From the perpetrator’s side, bullying also has a negative impact. Perpetrators who are used to hurting others can develop aggressive behavior that continues into adulthood. Although perpetrators often look and feel strong, it actually shows a problem in controlling emotions. Perpetrators can get used to using violence to get what they want or just to satisfy their desires. If not stopped, this habit may not disappear until they are adults, and they might even live that way. The punishments they receive can also be detrimental to themselves in the future. Perpetrators feel that they are the best, thus demanding respect for themselves.
Currently, bullying behavior has spread to the digital world or the internet, known as Cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a form of bullying through digital media such as social media, messaging applications, or online platforms. The difference with regular bullying is that Cyberbullying can happen anytime and anywhere, and the victims can be anyone; everyone can become a victim. Cyberbullying often occurs on several platforms or applications such as Instagram, Tiktok, or Twitter in the form of indiscriminate insulting comments, such as racism, or the distribution of photos or videos without permission with the aim of making someone’s name look bad. Cyberbullying becomes a new challenge in the world of modern education because it does not create a safe space for students; even at home they will not feel safe because bad things about them or something that happened to them and they don’t want anyone to know can spread at any time.
To reduce cases like this in various environments, especially schools, there must be an important role from all parties. Such as schools that must act firmly against bullying cases, implementing rules that might make bullies discourage their intention to bully others. These rules must also be well-communicated to the students. Teachers must also provide counseling services for their students. They must be sensitive to sudden changes in a student’s attitude or grades.
Parents also have an important role in preventing bullying cases, such as building communication. It can also be done by teaching moral education and empathy to children from an early age. This education can be applied at home because the home can be very influential in this issue. If their child is a victim of bullying, parents should also teach ways to defend themselves so they can avoid bad things that might happen to them. Parents must also be more sensitive to changes in the child’s attitude; this can be recognized by the behavior of the child who is suddenly lazy to go to school, gloomy, and so on.
Students as a part that has their respective roles and rights at school also have responsibilities. They can support victims by providing moral support, calming the victim, or reporting the incident to the school authorities. Simple behaviors like accompanying a friend who is ostracized or not joining in laughing at insults can make a big difference.
Character education is one of the most effective ways to prevent bullying. Because with positive attitudes and behaviors from an early age, children can learn to develop a sense of empathy and respect for others, thereby reducing the risk of bullying. By habituating attitudes of respect and appreciation for others, the school can become a positive environment and provide a sense of safety and comfort for all students.
As a conclusion, Bullying is a very serious issue and is something that is going to need much more than temporary fixes or awareness campaigns. Bullying is an issue that claws and scratches at a person’s very being and can result in a person’s suffering that can never be healed if the issue is never addressed. Because bullying now exists in a new layer created in the digital world, it is now more serious of an issue than it was before. For the victims of bullying, they are forever going to have to deal with the harassment and the bullying that comes with it, and suffer the ramifications that are going to come along with it.’ We need to stop normalizing these cruel behaviors and understand the serious trauma, bullying, harassment, and abuse, that people have to suffer. Lastly, we need to create a world that can be described as a positive ecosystem of safety and support, and one where students are encouraged and are never going to suffer from being victims of abuse.
By: Sayyidina Raihaan Kurniawan
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