What is bullying? Bullying is an unwanted, hostile, aggressive behavior meant to hurt, offend, abuse and concern someone or a group of people physically and emotionally. Physical bullying can hurt someone physically and emotionally, and the victims usually know who the aggressor is. Cyber bullying protects the offender because they are behind a screen. The offender can attack someone anonymously. Cyber bullying can only hurt someone emotionally, although it spreads fast and can go viral. Some similarities between both types of bullying are that both are done repeatedly, and that there will be an imbalance of power.

According to Ditch the Label, people will bully to have a gain of power and control because of stress and trauma and to be associated with higher social status. Other times, it is typically because people are simply different. This means that people will bully because of someone’s race, religion, political views, sexuality, body shape, and many more diverse topics.

Effects of bullying are usually the victim. The only effects the aggressor faces are the consequences. Effects of the victim include: poor academic achievement, long lasting mental health problems in the form of anxiety, depression, and in severe cases, suicide. Cyberbullying occurs through devices, such as phones, laptops, and tablets. This can occur from multiple different apps on social media. These apps include SMS, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and many more.

Cyberbullying happens to be the most common type of bullying, so much that 9% of kids grades 6-12 say they have been cyberbullies. The problem will always and forever be bullying, There are multiple solutions for bullying. These problems include participating in national anti-bullying week, building a safe environment in school and online, and creating campaigns that are against bullying; additionally, adults, school, staff, and parents can also do their part in telling kids about it, being a upstander, and protecting the victim.