Can bullying actually be a good thing?

While being sat in my room pondering about what I should post next, it dawned on me that I haven't posted anything about bullying. Being a blogger who actively seeks to raise awareness to things people ignore that need the attention, I think it's more than ideal for me to write about bullying. I chose this topic because in actuality people don't realise that there is some good in bullying although I don't encourage it, as given the right circumstance it can cause long term problems, all of which I will cover in the rest of the post.

I'm going to start off by saying, I in no way promote bullying especially physical bullying, I'm just here to pose facts and my opinion to you.

What is bullying?

Bullying by definition from oxford learners dictionary says "the use of strength or power to frighten or hurt weaker people." To further expand on this the hurt can be emotional or physical and it doesn't always tend to be someone who is weaker. Being a gen z still in school, I've witnessed that within my friend group no matter who you are you always get "teased" (I use tease lightly because to others it could be seen as bullying) and it's never from anyone bigger/stronger than you or even more powerful most of the time. Don't get me wrong we're all friends but we all have the thought that the best friendships are the ones where there is "teasing" on a daily basis. It actually makes the relationship stronger proven from "Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life". 

Ok, now you may be saying to me "but teasing isn't the same as bullying", and I say that you're wrong. This is because when you "tease" someone you take their inferiority and say to them look at you and your inferiority. That's hurtful (for some people may not be for you).. and is why I see teasing to be the same as bullying.

Why is bullying good?

I can't con anyone into thinking that being a victim of bullying doesn't come with its psychological effects. This is due to it always being publicly dramatized when people actually started caring for their health and well being instead of not brushing their teeth and eating mouldy food. But, I can say that all victims of bullying all act in different ways when being bullied. One person may end up with long-lasting PTSD while another may only suffer from social anxiety (I understand that social anxiety is still bad, but it's incomparable to having PTSD). Another person may just simply loose self-esteem while another may actually stand up for themselves and build up the courage to take on the bully. The person who builds up the courage to stand up and take on the bully themselves is the one who takes the positive effect of bullying. That person then learns not to simply sit at the worst will be better off than the one who just takes it.

Many times in schools instead of teachers letting students resolve bullying between themselves like the older happier generation did before all of us they know choose to step in. Some schools have even resorted into making anti-bullying groups just to "help" kids with bullying.

Having all of these measures to ensure that bullying doesn't happen doesn't teach kids nowadays how to fend for themselves when they leave these safe havens. When they get out into the real world they will look for someone to protect them when someone calls them names or pushes them because they haven't been taught how to handle the situation themselves.

If we take it into another situation, when are starting a small business it takes a long time to build up a profit if you even make it to that point. Someone who has been bullied and stood up/ sucked up to the bullying instead of waiting for other adults to deal with the situation would most likely tough it through the hardships the same way they learned in school.

"YOU CANNOT ESCAPE BULLYING NO MATTER WHAT SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND YOU COME FROM"

Aside from my opinionated views of bullying there are also scientifically proven benefits from bullying. The Time said "William Copeland and his colleagues took advantage of a database involving 1420 children who were followed from the age of 9 to 21, and who were tested at nine different times during that period. They were asked about their bullying experiences, and researchers took their blood to measure things like C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker for inflammation that is important for the predictor of heart disease, among other ailments. Their inflammation rates were lower even than those children who had never reported being bullied or being a bully. Bullying seemed to protect the aggressors from inflammatory diseases. We found that the enhanced social status that came along with being a bully did seem to advantage them over time, says Copeland. That finding more than anything else surprised us."

As I said at the start I don't think that bullying should be encouraged or I am in any way to telling you to go out and bully someone, but I'm saying that it shouldn't be prevented as it teaches younger ones a valuable lesson! Now that you've read this, you can read my post on "how you can make money from Brexit" or "Prime Ministers AMA" or "how to reduce your monthly expenses"