Earlier in the year, I wrote about cyber bullying and its link to teen suicide. During that time, all of the news articles and statistics I came across focused solely on high-school-aged students.
However, a recent news article was brought to my attention, which sheds light on a new study aimed at measuring the presence of bullying and cyber bullying within post-secondary institutions. The results of this study shocked me:
- 15 percent of college students said they have been bullied.
- 22 percent indicated they have been a victim of cyber bullying.
- 38 percent know someone who has experienced cyber bullying.
- 42 percent have seen someone being bullied by a fellow student.
- Almost nine percent admit to cyber bullying someone else.
- Among cyber-bullying victims, 25 percent said it was via a social networking site, 21 percent by text message, and 16 percent through instant messaging.
Even more shocking to me is the fact that 15 percent say they have witnessed a professor bullying a fellow student.
I guess it was naive of me to think that cyber bullying was mainly an elementary and high school issue. I figured that once the average bully reached young adulthood and gained more maturity, he or she typically realized the harmful effects of such behavior and made a positive change. Maybe I fell for the Hollywood movie cliché that you just have to “grin and bear” high school because everything changes when you hit college—cliques disappear, popularity becomes irrelevant, and the unique are revered rather than ridiculed.
This study has been a wake-up call for me. Although I can’t pinpoint any college experiences where I was subjected to, took part in, or witnessed either bullying or cyber bullying from fellow students or professors, this study suggests that far too many students do. It also increased my awareness of a fact that I should have been considering all along, but must have hidden behind rose-colored glasses: Bullying doesn’t stop with age or diplomas. The fact that such a high number of students reported witnessing professors taking part in bullying behavior suggests that it is a much wider problem than most people may realize (myself included). If it’s transcending schools and routinely entering the workplace, society has a much bigger hurdle to overcome than I ever imagined.
However, it does give me hope to see that there are countless people out there standing up to bullying in all forms.
In fact, the same day that I read the college bullying statistics, I happened to notice that a friend shared an anti-bullying link on Facebook. The Pledge To End Bullying is an initiative that was created by a group of students, teachers, businesses, non-profit organizations, and media outlets in London, Ontario who have banded together to fight all types of bullying in schools, at work, and at home.
The Pledge is available online in over 10 languages, and it states:
“I believe that everybody has the right to live in a community where they feel safe, included, valued and accepted regardless of differences. I pledge to be respectful of others and stand up against bullying whenever & wherever I see it.”
Whether you choose to voice your opposition to bullying (in all forms, at all ages, and in all settings) on or off the record—and regardless of how you word your personal pledge—I sincerely hope you make one.
