Chapter 1: Intro

HOW BULLYING AFFECTS OUR SOCIETY







A Research Paper Presented to
The English Resource Center
School of Multimedia Arts
Asia Pacific College
Magallanes, Makati







In Partial Fulfilment
of the Requirements for the Course
ERESWRT – Research Writing





Matthew G. Badillo


April 2014

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Chapter 1

Introduction

A. Background of the Study

Bullying has always been part of culture. As time passes by, the ways and effects of bullying evolve in a number of ways. It has become more sophisticated with the use of technology. Because of that, people can now bully in more ways than one. Some are more subtle while others are more destructive. The possibilities expand with the further expansion of technology. Nevertheless, bullying still continues to run within the veins of society. It continues to exist within generations.

Kerry Kennedy wrote an article called "Changing school culture can end bullying". Here, as the name suggests, he says that the school culture affects bullying and that changing the norms can change the culture.

Kerry recounts ''In my father’s lifetime, manufacturers weren’t even required to install seat belts in their vehicles, and it wasn’t until 1984 that riders were required to use them. But when my daughters get in a car today, putting on their seat belts is second nature. In just one generation, we watched a profound shift in social norms related to seat belts. How many people in 1984 said that Americans would never be persuaded to change an ingrained behavior in the name of public safety?".(http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/changing-school-culture-can-end-bullying/2013/08/11/e41fee0a-fe11-11e2-96a8-d3b921c0924a_story.html)

Almost everyone has seen or experienced bullying in one ways or another. Though it's commonly seen in schools, it actually can be seen in a lot of places other than the schoolyard. It can be found at work, bus or even at home. Even the media can sometimes aggravate the situation and even encourage bullying. Because, though people eventually mature, either they do not mature enough or it becomes one's mentality.

According to G. Kessel in her article "What breeds a Bully?", the trigger for bullying is usually within the environment itself. The victims usually become bullies themselves.

Kessel says, "It becomes very easy for children to turn around and do to someone else what's been done to them because they know exactly how it feels."  (http://www.neverhitachild.org/bullies.html)

It occurs even at work. As stated earlier, this may be because of the mentality. Thus, people tend to vent it out on others. The bad part about this is that some people, especially those who are being bullied by their bosses or higher-ups, may not even realize that they are being bullied. Most likely from the fact that it is their superior and that they think they actually deserve it.

According to Allison Van Dusen in "Ten Signs You're Being Bullied at Work", experts say that there really is a lack of awareness for being by co-workers or bosses, so they may not even notice. 

Allison quotes David Yamada in that "They're sinking into a really bad state emotionally, finding it harder to go to work and it might even affect their work performance." (http://www.forbes.com/2008/03/22/health-bullying-office-forbeslife-cx_avd_0324health.html)

Because of these things, the researcher notices that are may be a pattern or cycle going on. Someone bullies other and in turn, bully others. It continues to influence this generation as well as the next generation. Thus, it starts to affect the mentality and morality of the public.
Thus, if the reader has background information of the effects of bullying on the mentality of the public, that person may be able to do their part and be aware.

So instead of dealing with why they bully, this paper will focus on the effects of bullying in society.

B. Statement of the problem

The study aims to answer these questions

1. What are the ways bullying affects society?

C. Significance of the Study

Parents

Through this research, parents can become aware of bullying and its long-term effects and how it affects their child. Also, this helps stop parents from dismissing it as just a “childhood ritual” and that everybody goes through it. 

 

Teachers

Teachers are the student's second parents. Thus, they have to know its effects so they can help take action on it. This can also help assess the environment of the school if it is a healthy one or not. Also, they would be able to use these information on making lesson plans and instructional activities regarding this topic.

Future Researchers

This research is crucial for future researchers who will make similar studies regarding this topic. This is a generation where bullying can become even more apparent that how it it now. Thus, further study is needed to decipher find a solution to this problem. The information presented here can be used by other researcher for references.

D. Scope and Limitations

This study focuses on the effects of bullying on society's mentality and morality. Bullying has always been able to shape one's mentality. One mentality that will dictate how a person will act for the rest of his life.

Due to time constraints, the study will not cover details on how to prevent bullying or finding a solution for bullying. This is to give focus on the effects of bullying as well as how it affects mentality. The researcher believes that because bullying was around for a long time, thus it has affected a majority of the public. Therefore, this topics would be relevant to this generation where bullying is common.

E. Material and Methods

The research will use data and information from researcher's blog posts as well as the websites within the blog that were used for references. The researcher intends to analyze data from sociological and psychological perspectives, analyzing one by one and classifying it. Examples may also be cited though the gathered facts.

F. Definition of Terms

1. Bullying: unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance (http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/definition/)

2. Cyberbullying: when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones (http://stopcyberbullying.org/what_is_cyberbullying_exactly.html)