Discover > Magazine > September 2012 > Feature: Bullies beware
< September 2012 magazine
BULLIES BEWARE
When Key Club joins the fight, bullies
are bound to back down.
Arm yourself
with facts, strategies and like-minded
friends to make a difference
story by Shanna Mooney
When it comes to bullying, there’s
finally some good news: People
are actually doing something
about it. What’s more: Teens can
play a huge part in ending bullying
forever.
“Bullying has always been an issue,”
says Corey Gibson, chief development
of ficer of I-MPACT and a 2012
Key Club International convention
presenter. “Society is finally recognizing
the impact bullying has on
self-esteem.”
Bullying has been a problem for a long
time, says Ellen Vaughan, Indiana University
assistant professor in the department
of counseling and educational
psychology. Data from the Center
for Disease Control and Prevention’s
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
Survey found that about 20 percent
of respondents report being bullied at
school in the last year, Vaughan says.
Social media has helped bring the
issue to light. Because we have
uninterrupted access to information
and people’s stories, there’s
growing knowledge of bullying
and the short-term and long-term
effects. “As a result, we’re seeing
greater public awareness and attention
to what is considered an
important public health problem,”
Vaughan says.
It's bad for bullies too
Does it surprise you to hear that
bullying is considered a health
problem? Vaughan says it isn’t just
the bullied she’s talking about, but the
bullies themselves.
“It was sad and shocking to see how
many teens had been directly affected
by it. Several kids
shared suicide stories about bullied
teens at their schools.”
Corey Gibson,
I-MPACT
“Youth who are bullied are at risk for
anxiety and depression—and academic
consequences,” Vaughan says. Those
consequences may be long-term and
continue into adulthood, including a
greater likelihood not to finish school.
Bullies are more likely to engage in a
host of other problematic behaviors
such as violence and substance use,
Vaughan says. That can lead to even
bigger problems in adulthood.
Corey Gibson was amazed at the
far-reaching effects bullying had on
those who attended his Key Club
convention workshop.
The workshop empowered teen participants
to create an anti-bullying
campaign that could be rolled out
nationally.
In break-out groups, students talked
about the effect bullying had on
them as well as their local communities.
“It was sad and shocking to see how
many teens had been directly affected
by it,” Gibson says. “Several kids
shared suicide stories about bullied
teens at their schools.”
That’s the bad news. Ready for the
good news? You can help!
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