The Bully Effect
All people can be victims of bullying but school children are more vulnerable than adults. Bullying is a violent act where people treat others in destructive way by undervaluing their mental or physical health. Bullying is a societal problem and the rate of victimization in school children is high. In school, students develop aggressive behaviors toward other students and this creates a detachment in that the psychological well-being of the victim is affected and this creates negative relationship with peers (Goldblum, 203). The problem becomes worse as many students do not report due fear of being embarrassed and so they end up suffering physically and emotionally. In many cases, bully-victims are associated with physical or mental problems and bullying worsens the condition as students develop psychological distress (Goldblum, 203).
Bullying is associated with longer run consequences not only to the victims but also to parents, teachers and friends. From the movie, young children are vulnerable be to bullying and they experience long-term consequences in life. For example, children who are bullied in school suffer from depression that leads to suicidal thoughts. Other consequences include low self-esteem, social phobia, anger, poor academic performance and more. Bullying is an issue of concern since school students are vulnerable to these social issues which affect their social life, academic life and adulthood (Goldblum, 203). For example, students’ performance is affected since they reduce the school attendance due to anxiety and depression. Other students react to the issue in a negative way such as by showing irritation and loosing enthusiasm in daily activities. It is the high time to implement effective measures in order to avoid the negative consequences.
Parent, teachers and community can prevent bullying through building social support network. Parents should observe signs such as depression and anxiety, create an open-ended conversation and take appreciate measures to address the issue. In addition, teachers should always give positive message and create a supportive environment (Goldblum, 205). The school administration should make bullying an illegal act through teaching students the importance of unity. Rules and regulations should be developed so that students can adhere to response and responsibility and be accountable of negative action toward others. The community should not be left behind as it should implement bullying prevention strategies such as school-community partnership in spreading the anti-bullying message to the community (Goldblum, 205).Teachers and parents should encourage students to report bullying.
Cartoon Network is doing a recommendable job by presenting children’s shows with important life-applicable messages. The television channel is raising awareness and creating positive relations by delivering the anti-bullying message to the victims, parents, teachers and all those who are involved. The Cartoon Network has created the pledge “Stop Bulling: Speak Up” which presents a pro-social campaign to ensure that children, teachers and families unite together in stopping bullying (Goldblum, 205). Note that silence promotes bullying and the only way to address the issue is through encouraging children to speak up. Cartoon Network has all tools and resources to ensure that all people especially kids get an advice which they should apply in their daily life. The good thing with the campaign is that it is motivating children to report the bullying and this not only promotes a healthy friendship with others but also the child well-being (Goldblum, 205). Families are not left behind as they encouraged taking the pledge and the method is working effectively. Other recommendation is that more anti-bullying campaigns should be developed by other networks apart from Cartoon Network to provide prevention effort to parents, teachers and students.
Work cited
Goldblum, Peter. Youth Suicide and Bullying: Challenges and Strategies for Prevention and Intervention. ,
- Print.