Free Essay on How Popularity and Emotional Instability Influence Bullying

I would like to call upon the concerned parties to be more proactive in the fight against bullying in schools.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Bullying in Schools

Fisher (2015), in his article "The Association of Different Types of Bullying..." argues that one in every four students in the United States has admitted to being bullied in school. I believe a few among us have been bullied at some point in our lives or we have friends who have been bullied. We can all agree that bullying is a massive problem in our schools. However, the specific problem associated with bullying is the effect it causes on learners physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Various factors can lead to bullying including the pursuit of popularity and emotional instability.

The article titled "The Issue of Bullying" from the website stompoutbullying.org (2018) claims that the major cause of bullying in schools around the world is the quest for popularity. A bully who is hungry for attention will go to any extent to get it. Such bullies thrive in crowded places because that is the best avenue to gain all the attention. A bully may harass their victim during sporting events, entertainment events in school, and during lunch hours. The same website further claims that "5.4 million students stay home on any given day because they're afraid of being bullied." This means that bullying can lead to loss of interest in school. When the usual victim does not turn up in school on any particular day, the bully finds another victim to harass. Clearly, such bullies cannot get the attention they are used to without inflicting pain on other students. In some instances, one student who is popular may feel threatened by the popularity of another student. Due to insecurity, the student who feels threatened may resort to bullying his "competitor" in the popularity contest. Mostly, the bully resorts to this measure when he or she does not have any other avenues. Therefore, it is evident that "hunger" for popularity is a major cause of bullying in schools.

Furthermore, emotional instability is also a reason for bullying in schools. According to "19 Numbers That Prove we can do more for Mental Health" on the website HuffPost UK (2018), "the percentage of adolescents who have a depressive disorder before the age of 18 is 90%".When a student is depressed, he or she is prone to anger and irritation from the actions or words of other students. Such emotionally unstable students are known to start fights at the easiest provocation. For instance, when they are wrong they do not like to be corrected, lest they feel demeaned. In most circumstances, such students are advised to seek psychological assistance or get expelled when the safety of other students is compromised. There are also situations whereby the emotional instability on the part of a student makes him or her the victim of bullying. This normally occurs when the student is weak; therefore cries easily at the least provocation. The bully exploits this weakness and makes it a habit to tease such a student. Most of these kinds of bullies do not know that they are actually performing the act of bullying. Therefore, it is evident that emotional instability is one of the major reasons for bullying in schools worldwide.

Overall, bullying causes physical, emotional, and psychological harm to victimized students all over the world. The quest for popularity, emotional instability, and jealousy are all major factors that lead to bullying in schools. I would like to challenge the concerned parties to support the fight against bullying by playing their roles effectively whether as school authorities or parents. I also feel that schools should be more proactive in the fight against bullying by taking stringent measures including expulsions for students who are found culpable.

References

Fisher,C. (2018). "The Association of Different Types of Bullying With the Mental Health " by Christina Fisher. [online] Available at: https://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/media_com_sum/4/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018].

HuffPost UK. (2018). 19 Numbers That Prove We Can Do More For Mental Health. [online] Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/01/mental-illness-statistics_n_6193660.html [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018].

Stompoutbullying.org. (2018). The Issue Of Bullying. [online] Available at: http://www.stompoutbullying.org/information-and-resources/about-bullying-and-cyberbullying/issue-bullying [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018].