Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever heard of an incident related to it?

Or have you seen

it happen in front of your eyes?
 
According to Merriam-Webster, bullying is the abuse and mistreatment of someone vulnerable
by someone stronger, or more powerful.
 
Bullying is rampant on all ages and most parts of the world, and it does not just come in harsh
words. We have physical bullying, which, like the name implies, includes violence. Verbal,
which makes use of hurtful words, social bullying, which is designed to harm someone's social
reputation or cause humiliation. This includes encouraging people to isolate an individual. It is
also referred to as covert bullying. This type of bullying is harder to recognise
 
The last type is cyber bullying. The Cyber Bullying Research Centre defines cyber bullying as;
intentional and repeated harm inflicted through the use of phones, computers and other electronic
devices. This can include abusive or hurtful texts, emails or posts, images or videos, or hacking
someone's account to impersonate them.
 
Bullying is not normal, nor is it a stage we go through at school. It is something designed to hurt.
 
We need to stop bullying, this is something that hardly needs to be reiterated.
 
Bullying can have disastrous effects for both the bully and the one being bullied. The latter can
take to abusing alcohol and drugs in adolescence and as adults and grow to be abusive to the
people around them. The academic achievement of those who are bullied may decrease and they
may fall into a state of depression. In worst case scenario, those who are bullied may turn to
suicide.
 
We cannot just simply tell the bullied to stand up for themselves, because it simply doesn't work
out if the bully is larger than the victim - as it is in most cases. And in these cases, what the
victim is looking for is support. While we can administer punishment to the bullies, the problem
is, this bullies usually come from households with their own set of problems.
 
We can punish the bullies, but also give them words of guidance. But ultimately, it is the adults'
choice to lead them away from committing these acts. Education, after all, always starts in the
home.