The number one cause of teen suicides or suicide attempts is bullying. Whether it is in schools, or just around the neighborhood, bullying affects teenage lives everyday when constant. Bullying causes many issues like depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and even suicide. When people think about bullying, most think physical, however here are many different types of bullying. Bullying doesn’t just have to be physical, it also can be verbal, emotional, or even cyber bullying. When physical bullying does not satisfy the predator, they switch to cyber bullying, which includes instant messaging on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or any other social media.

According to a  statistic, about 30% percent of teens have been involved into bullying, whether they were the bullies or the ones getting bullied. Bullying is much more common in the younger teen group as far as physical bullying goes, and older teens tend to use media more than physical bullying.

“I’ve been bullied before, so I think bullies have been bullied in the past so that’s why they make the mistakes, and they bully other kids, but we need to be there more than not” says Bailey Camp. (Direct Quote).

It’s very simple to prevent bullying. Making friends with someone in person or even online while being kind and caring will help reduce bullying. It’s also a good idea to tell an adult if you know of someone who is being bullied so they can put an end to it very quickly. If you see someone getting bullied, stand up for them and don’t be a bystander. Stand up and speak out(Pulled quote). The last tactic to reduce bullying is to switch it up, meaning join different groups of friends, instead of just staying in one.

Overall, bullying is a hard thing to live with, but that is why YOU can make a difference, not only at our school, but around our community and encourage others around to take a stand against bullies.