Bullying myths and facts

Myths and facts

Myth: Bullying is a normal part of childhood and you should just ignore it

Fact: Bullying is not "normal" or acceptable in any form and ignoring might not always make it stop. If you can, please confide in someone you trust such as a parent or teacher to help you get it stopped. Bullying can knock your self-esteem and confidence.

Myth: It is ok to hit someone who is bullying you, it will stop it

Fact: It’s understandable that you may be angry but if you were to get violent or aggressive it may make matters much worse as you may get into trouble too.

Myth: Bullies are born this way, it’s in their genes

Fact: Bullies often adopt this behaviour from their environment or sometimes, it’s a reaction from them being bullied by others. Whatever the case, it is not right.

Myth: Bullying only happens in schools

Fact: This is not the case at all, bullying can happen to anyone at any place. It may be out of school, at university or even college. It can happen when you are out with mates or on the way to and from school. 

Myth: You can spot a bully from the way they look and act

Fact: There is no such thing as a way a bully looks or acts. There is no specific dress code or behaviour code.

Myth: Online bullying is just banter and harmless

Fact: People being bullied online is a very serious issue, the bullying can go viral very quickly and make the problem escalate quickly. It is important to take a screenshot of any conversations, messages or posts that you feel are bullying so that you have a record.

Myth: Cyberbullying doesn't involve physical harm so what's the harm?

Fact: Actually, some people have committed suicide as a result of not seeing any way out of the non-stop harassment, threats and abuses. The emotional scarring stays for a lot longer and sometimes a person will never get over this. Some websites allow people to post anonymously which can mean it is very hard to stop this abuse.

Myth: It is not bullying if someone deletes the comment or post

Fact: Regardless of hitting delete, once something is posted online is gets its own unique URL which means that it can stay on cyberspace even if you hit delete.

Myth: If bullying was so bad, why don’t they have a law about it?

Fact: Some forms of bullying are illegal and should be reported to the police including violence or assault, theft, repeated harassment or intimidation, e.g.threats and abusive phone calls, emails or text messages and hate crimes.

Myth: Reporting a bully will make things worse

Fact: You may worry that reporting a bully might make the bullying escalate or they feel they are not believed. It is important to confide in someone you trust so that you can have some help in getting the necessary support to get this stopped. 

Myth: It is easy to spot the signs of bullying

Fact: It is not always easy to spot the signs of bullying as it is not always physical and obvious. Emotional, verbal and online bullying can often leave scars that people don’t see.

Myth: Children grow out of bullying

Fact: Quite often children who bully may grow up to be adults who bully or use negative behaviour to get what they want, unless there has been intervention and their behaviour challenged by the relevant authorities, whether it be school or parents, etc. 

Using these myths as a conversation starter can help manage difficult and awkward discussions. These myths and facts can also be used as a classroom resource.