bullying bullying bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. the behavior is often repeated and habitual. one essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imbalance of physical or social power. this imbalance distinguishes bullying from conflict. bullying is a subcategory of aggressive behavior characterized by hostile intent, imbalance of power and repetition over a period of time. bullying is the activity of repeated, aggressive behavior intended to hurt another individual, physically, mentally or emotionally. share of children who report being bullied (2015) bullying can be done individually or by a group, called mobbing, in which the bully may have one or more followers who are willing to assist the primary bully or who reinforce the bully by providing positive feedback such as laughing. bullying in school and the workplace is also referred to as "peer abuse". robert w. fuller has analyzed bullying in the context of rankism. the swedish-norwegian researcher dan olweus says bullying occurs when a person is "exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons", and that negative actions occur "when a person intentionally inflicts injury or discomfort upon another person, through physical contact, through words or in other ways". individual bullying is usually characterized by a person behaving in a certain way to gain power over another person. a bullying culture can develop in any context in which humans interact with each other. this may include school, family, the workplace, the home, and neighborhoods. the main platform for bullying in contemporary culture is on social media websites. in a 2012 study of male adolescent american football players, "the strongest predictor was the perception of whether the most influential male in a player's life would approve of the bullying behavior." a study by the lancet child & adolescent health in 2019 showed a relationship between social media use by girls and an increase in their exposure to bullying. bullying may be defined in many different ways. in the united kingdom, there is no legal definition of bullying, while some states in the united states have laws against it. bullying is divided into four basic types of abuse – psychological (sometimes called emotional or relational), verbal, physical, and cyber. behaviors used to assert such domination may include physical assault or coercion, verbal harassment, or threat, and such acts may be directed repeatedly toward particular targets. rationalizations of such behavior sometimes include differences of social class, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, appearance, behavior, body language, personality, reputation, lineage, strength, size, or ability. etymology the word "bully" was first used in the 1530s meaning "sweetheart", applied to either sex, from the dutch: boel, "lover, brother", probably diminutive of middle high german: buole, "brother", of uncertain origin (compare with the german buhle "lover"). the meaning deteriorated through the 17th century through "fine fellow", "blusterer", to "harasser of the weak". this may have been as a connecting sense between "lover" and "ruffian" as in "protector of a prostitute", which was one sense of "bully" (though not specifically attested until 1706). the verb "to bully" is first attested in 1710. in the past, in american culture, the term has been used differently, as an exclamation/exhortation, in particular famously associated with theodore roosevelt and continuing to the present in the bully pulpit, roosevelt's coining and also as faint/deprecating praise ("bully for him"). types bullying has been classified by the body of literature into different types. these can be in the form of nonverbal, verbal, or physical behavior. another classification is based on perpetrators or the participants involved, so that the types include individual and collective bullying. other interpretation also cite emotional and relational bullying in addition to physical harm inflicted towards another person or even property. there is also the case of the more recent phenomenon called cyberbullying. physical, verbal, and relational bullying are most prevalent in primary school and could also begin much earlier while continuing into later stages in individuals lives. individual individual bullying tactics are perpetrated by a single person against a victim or victims. individual bullying can be classified into four types outlined below: physical physical bullying is any bullying that hurts someone's body or damages their possessions. stealing, shoving, hitting, fighting, and intentionally destroying someone's property are types of physical bullying. physical bullying is rarely the first form of bullying that a victim will experience. often bullying will begin in a different form and later progress to physical violence. in physical bullying the main weapon the bully uses is his/her body, or some part thereof; or an object as a weapon when attacking his/her victim. sometimes groups of young adults will target and alienate a peer because of some adolescent prejudice. this can quickly lead to a situation where they are being taunted, tortured, and "beaten up" by their classmates. physical bullying will often escalate over time, and can lead to a detrimental or fatal ending, and therefore many try to stop it quickly to prevent any further escalation. verbal verbal bullying is one of the most common types of bullying. this is any bullying that is conducted by speaking, other use of the voice, or some form of body language and does not involve any physical contact. bullying usually begins at this stage and includes any of the following: derogatory name-calling and nicknaming spreading rumors or lying about someone threatening someone yelling at or talking to someone in a rude or unkind tone of voice, especially without justifiable cause mocking someone's voice or style of speaking laughing at someone use of body language (i.e., the middle finger) to torment someone making insults or otherwise making fun of someone in verbal bullying, the main weapon the bully uses is voice. in many cases, verbal bullying is common in both genders, but girls are more likely to perform it. girls, in general, are more subtle with insults than boys. girls use verbal bullying, as well as social exclusion techniques, to dominate and control other individuals and show their superiority and power, often to try to impress someone they idolize. many boys are subtle enough to use verbal techniques for domination when they want to avoid the trouble that can come with physically bullying someone else. relational relational bullying (sometimes referred to as social aggression) is the type of bullying that uses relationships to hurt others. the term also denotes any bullying that is done with the intent to hurt somebody's reputation or social standing which can also link in with the techniques included in physical and verbal bullying. relational bullying is a form of bullying common among youth, but particularly upon girls. social exclusion (slighting or making someone feel "left out") is one of the most common types of relational bullying. relational bullying can be used as a tool by bullies to both improve their social standing and control others. unlike physical bullying which is obvious, relational bullying is not overt and can continue for a long time without being noticed. cyber cyberbullying is the use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person. when an adult is involved, it may meet the definition of cyber-harassment or cyberstalking, a crime that can have legal consequences and involve jail time. this includes bullying by use of email, instant messaging, social media websites (such as facebook), text messages, and cell phones. it is stated that cyberbullying is more common in secondary school than in primary school. the internet provides people with limited accountability and no filter. the use of technology for bullying can be detrimental to someones online reputation. the information put out online will stay there forever, unless taken down by the person who put it out there and sometimes not even then. future jobs and people will be able to see others' digital footprint and how you treated others. another problem with cyberbullying is that other people can get involved. technology, especially the use of social media, allows others to repost or share content whether it is positive or negative. collective collective bullying tactics are employed by more than one individual against a victim or victims. collective bullying is known as mobbing, and can include any of the individual types of bullying. trolling behavior on social media, although generally assumed to be individual in nature by the casual reader, is sometime organized efforts by sponsored astroturfers. mobbing mobbing refers to the bullying of an individual by a group, in any context, such as a family, peer group, school, workplace, neighborhood, community, or online. when it occurs as emotional abuse in the workplace, such as "ganging up" by co-workers, subordinates or superiors, to force someone out of the workplace through rumor, innuendo, intimidation, humiliation, discrediting, and isolation, it is also referred to as malicious, nonsexual, nonracial/racial, general harassment. characteristics bullies and accomplices studies have shown that envy and resentment may be motives for bullying. research on the self-esteem of bullies has produced equivocal results. while some bullies are arrogant and narcissistic, they can also use bullying as a tool to conceal shame or anxiety or to boost self-esteem: by demeaning others, the abuser feels empowered. bullies may bully out of jealousy or because they themselves are bullied. psychologist roy baumeister asserts that people who are prone to abusive behavior tend to have inflated but fragile egos. because they think too highly of themselves, they are frequently offended by the criticisms and lack of deference of other people, and react to this disrespect with violence and insults. researchers have identified other risk factors such as depression and personality disorders, as well as quickness to anger and use of force, addiction to aggressive behaviors, mistaking others' actions as hostile, concern with preserving self-image, and engaging in obsessive or rigid actions. a combination of these factors may also be causes of this behavior. in one study of youth, a combination of antisocial traits and depression was found to be the best predictor of youth violence, whereas video game violence and television violence exposure were not predictive of these behaviors. bullying may also result from a genetic predisposition or a brain abnormality in the bully. while parents can help a toddler develop emotional regulation and control to restrict aggressive behavior, some children fail to develop these skills due to insecure attachment with their families, ineffective discipline, and environmental factors such as a stressful home life and hostile siblings. moreover, according to some researchers, bullies may be inclined toward negativity and perform poorly academically. dr. cook says, "a typical bully has trouble resolving problems with others and also has trouble academically. he or she usually has negative attitudes and beliefs about others, feels negatively toward himself/herself, comes from a family environment characterized by conflict and poor parenting, perceives school as negative and is negatively influenced by peers." contrarily, some researchers have suggested that some bullies are psychologically strongest and have high social standing among their peers, while their targets are emotionally distressed and socially marginalized. peer groups often promote the bully's actions, and members of these peer groups also engage in behaviors, such as mocking, excluding, punching, and insulting one another as a source of entertainment. other researchers also argued that a minority of the bullies, those who are not in-turn bullied, enjoy going to school, and are least likely to take days off sick. research indicates that adults who bully have authoritarian personalities, combined with a strong need to control or dominate. it has also been suggested that a prejudicial view of subordinates can be a particularly strong risk factor. in a recent study, bullies showed lower school performance-related self-esteem than non-involved students. they also showed higher social self-esteem than victims of traditional bullying. brain studies have shown that the section of the brain associated with reward becomes active when bullies are shown a video of someone inflicting pain on another. bystanders often, bullying takes place in the presence of a large group of relatively uninvolved bystanders. in many cases, it is the bully's ability to create the illusion they have the support of the majority present that instills the fear of "speaking out" in protestation of the bullying activities being observed by the group. unless the "bully mentality" is effectively challenged in any given group in