Social Effects
Another way that children are affected by bullying is socially. After being bullied, children act differently than they would have acted prior to being bullied in social situations. When bullying occurs, children become less wanting to interact with other children. According to Jennifer N. Caudle (2014), it is common for children that are bullied to experience loneliness. Along with loneliness being an emotional effect of bullying, it also affects children socially. These children are experiencing loneliness because of their fear of social interactions with their peers; this fear was most likely not one they were born with, but one that they have because of past experiences. As stated earlier, children who are bullied often act anxious. This may set them apart from their peers, and make them stand out in a way that would make being social more difficult. According to Baku (2013), “as children grow into preteens and then into teenagers, they often become less dependent on the family and more dependent on their peers when it comes to making choices and developing morals and values.” This lack of peer interaction can cause lack of development in the lives of these children. Socially, children are affected drastically by being bullied. According to Michelle Castillo from CBSNews (2013), “A new study published in Psychological Science on Aug. 19 shows that being bullied as a youth was linked to more struggles to hold a regular job, more health problems and poor social relationships when the victim becomes an adult.” As thought by many people, life revolves around relationships. When children grow into adults and cannot maintain social relationships, they are really suffering socially. It is very difficult to be successful in a workplace and in other social environments if adults are afraid to communicate with others.
Social interaction is now more common than ever. In earlier days, people did not have cell phones or technology to help them communicate. In our present day world, communicating through technology is everything. Children now depend on technology to communicate with their peers. According to Taylor Thomas of TopTenReviews (2014), “93% of teens ages 12-17 go online.” Clearly that is a huge percentage. Along with that, “69% of teens have their own computer, 63% of teen Internet users go online every day, 27% of teens use their phone to get online, and 24% of teens with a gain console use it to go online” (Thomas, 2014). According to Laura Gallo (2013), “some of the most popular networking sights include Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Friendster and Bebo. Even Youtube has social networking capabilities such as sharing links with friends.”
With this many people going online and interacting online, there is bound to be bullying. Cyber-bullying often happens on many of these social networking websites. Cyber-bullying affects how children act socially. When cyber-bullying goes on, children are often bullied without knowing who bullies them. This leads to children not knowing who to fear, and choosing not to socialize with their peers because of this fear. According to CDC (2014), “it can happen 24 hours a day, any place where a child has online access, and it’s especially harmful because it can occur anonymously and be spread quickly to hundreds of bystanders.” This type of bullying is especially harmful to children’s social lives.
Social interaction is now more common than ever. In earlier days, people did not have cell phones or technology to help them communicate. In our present day world, communicating through technology is everything. Children now depend on technology to communicate with their peers. According to Taylor Thomas of TopTenReviews (2014), “93% of teens ages 12-17 go online.” Clearly that is a huge percentage. Along with that, “69% of teens have their own computer, 63% of teen Internet users go online every day, 27% of teens use their phone to get online, and 24% of teens with a gain console use it to go online” (Thomas, 2014). According to Laura Gallo (2013), “some of the most popular networking sights include Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Friendster and Bebo. Even Youtube has social networking capabilities such as sharing links with friends.”
With this many people going online and interacting online, there is bound to be bullying. Cyber-bullying often happens on many of these social networking websites. Cyber-bullying affects how children act socially. When cyber-bullying goes on, children are often bullied without knowing who bullies them. This leads to children not knowing who to fear, and choosing not to socialize with their peers because of this fear. According to CDC (2014), “it can happen 24 hours a day, any place where a child has online access, and it’s especially harmful because it can occur anonymously and be spread quickly to hundreds of bystanders.” This type of bullying is especially harmful to children’s social lives.