Myths About Bullying

Bullying is, regrettably, a reality that many people of all ages still have to deal with. It’s not something that everyone grows out of. But school is a time of our lives where we’re likely to have to deal at least some bullies. It’s a deeply complex issue with a wide variety of different factors, so I’m assuming you won’t have started to read this with any expectation that I will be ‘solving’ bullying over the course of this short blog post. I certainly hope not, as I don’t like my odds of solving an issue that’s been ongoing about as long as humans have been socializing. Reducing the presence and impact of bullying is a challenge which needs to be dealt with gradually over generations.

All I want to do here is to contribute towards this goal in a small way by discussing some myths about bullying. After all, even as we continue to improve our understanding of the causes of bullying and its impact, old assumptions and beliefs linger. So, let’s go over a few of the more prevalent ones.

Bullying Toughens You Up

Learning to overcome problems can help you grow as a person, but this idea falls apart when applied to something like bullies. Bullying, whether form it takes, is an attempt to harm, intimidate or coerce someone the bully views as vulnerable. Far from making them tougher, it can give the victim insecurities and self-worth issues and a wealth of other traumas. Not to mention weaken their trust in authority figures if they choose not to do anything. And this is putting aside any physical injuries which might occur if the bullying is physical.

And this particular myth often walks hand in hand with our next one.

Bullying is Just a Part of Life

As we’ve already discussed, bullying isn’t some recent trend. It’s been around for a long time, and completely eliminating all forms of bullying is unlikely, to say the least. But the complacency this can breed not only leads to the above myth, it’s just actively wrong. Simply because bullying can’t be completely eliminated, doesn’t mean that it’s acceptable that any one person should be tormented. Not to mention that it’s hardly uncommon for people who are being bullied to bully someone else. Either to make themselves feel better, or to try and shift the negative attention off them. Ultimately, the apathy that this myth breeds only increases the amount of bullying.

Some People Are Just Naturally Bullies

Like many social problems, the root causes of why people bully others is a complex combination of many different factors, including how a person was raised and their current circumstances. And the ‘naturally bullies’ theory has something in common with the other myths on this list. They’re not just wrong, they’re counterproductive. Becoming a bully isn’t a choice which can never be undone. By coming to understand why a person becomes a bully, you can start to do something about it. Which is far more effective for reducing bullying than doing nothing more than punishing it.

Online Bullying is Harmless

The advent of the internet has, in some ways, not been great when it comes to bullying. In pre-internet times, you couldn’t bully someone you weren’t actually in the same room as. Unfortunately, with social media, bullies can come after you in a way that’s still fairly difficult to police. Not to mention that the potential anonymity this can provide can make bullies bolder. The consequences of this can be deeply unpleasant, especially given the growing need for an online presence in the modern world.

These are just a handful of the misconceptions about bullying still floating about out there. Hopefully, no one you know is having to deal with bullying, but if they are, there is plenty of advice and support to be found. Anti-Bullying Week 2024 runs from the 11th of November to the 15th, with lots of different organizations supporting it.