Bullying Statistics Show Some Signs Of Improvement But Still Remain Absolutely Horrific

November 2, 2018 20:04

It is always almost unbearable to read about bullying, and even harder to write about it. However, we have to raise awareness if we want to solve this issue as fast as possible. And believe us, you will definitely want to join the “anti-bullying team” after you learn about the horrific statistics. Although there are some signs of improvement, we still have a long road ahead. And the more people will become aware of it, the faster we will drive this distance, thus preventing many children from becoming the victims of the XXI century disease.

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Bullying statistics in the US 2018

The very first thing you need to do if you want to solve any issue is to recognize it. Around 75% of school shooting cases have been linked to bullying and harassment. And more than 160,000 children skip classes each day because of the fear of being bullied. Yet, many parents still believe that bullying at schools or online is totally natural and helps children become stronger. Some may even think cyber bullying is not real or doesn’t impact children the same way as the traditional forms of bullying do. However, the numbers show that the situation with bullying has already crossed the line and requires immediate actions to be taken.

More than 40% of children have been bullied online at least once. Most of them have even been threatened. And around 60% of children reported that somebody said something mean to them online. This means that basically almost every second child is at risk of experiencing bullying at a very young age, and it is practically impossible to prepare them. Cyber bullying statistics is getting worse with the mass availability of technologies: more than 50% of LGBTQ youth are constantly bullied online.
Physical bullying statistics don’t seem to improve. According to the Bureau of Justice School, 46% of males and 26% of females have been victims of physical bullying. We know that boys fight, but it feels surreal to realize that every fourth girl has been physically harassed or even assaulted.
Although a lot of efforts have been devoted to solving the racial discrimination issue, about 25% of African-American, 22% of Caucasian, 17% of Hispanic, and nearly 10% of Asian students have reported being bullied at school.
Nearly three-quarters of students admit they have seen incidents of bullying at least once. Approximately the same percentage of school personnel have also become witnesses. According to different studies, more than half of episodes of bullying stop if the witness interferes.
Some different studies state that around three-quarters of students have been victims of any form of bullying. Imagine how many of these young people managed to deal with the problem or at least tell any adult. Only around 25% of bullied students notify adults about the issue. And although bullying can have absolutely devastating consequences, there are no anti-bullying laws in the US.

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Facts and risk factors about bullying

The statistics show that causes of bullying are mainly based on the factor of domination. Anyone can experience bullying, but those who face this issue repeatedly have many risk factors in common:

anyone who looks differently: wearing glasses, overweight or underweight, different clothing, not having things that children consider “cool”;
anyone who is considered too weak and unable to defend themselves;
children that have low self-esteem, anxious, or depressed;
those who have fewer friends and less popular.

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Where bullying happens

Despite the huge increase in cyber bullying due to the development of technologies, different studies suggest that bullying mostly occurs in various places at school:

classroom – around 30%;
hallway – nearly 30%;
cafeteria – 23%;
PE class or gym – nearly 20%;
bathrooms – more than 12%;
outside the school – from 6 to 7%.

Effects of bullying

Many don’t realize that bullying can have an absolutely disastrous negative impact not only on the victims, but also on the perpetrators. With that being said let’s identify these possible effects for those who bully others:

alcohol and drug addiction in adulthood;
tendency to get into fights, damage property, and being dropped out of school or college;
possible abusive behavior with their partners, children, and animals;
high chances of having a criminal history.

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Those who are bullied, however, may suffer from arguably more devastating consequences:

heavy depression, anxiety, and panic attacks;
changes in eating and sleep patterns;
trust issues in adulthood that lead to poor social life;
possibly extreme health issues due to physical bullying;
suicidal behavior, which can sometimes lead to death.

We believe that only by raising awareness, we can improve and hopefully solve the current situation. Bullying statistics are indeed not comforting and prove that we need to come up with a clear plan. Let’s stop bullying!