Blog post 3

Blog Post #3 for October 31, 2017

" Further, research on peer bullying almost exclusively focuses on how it occurs in relationship to school, which, in effect, renders school a normative site of inquiry. Yet, bullying is not confined to this one context, nor are its aggressors solely peers"

For week 11's reading, one of the topics discussed was bullying. This topic popped out at me for a few reasons. In class we are learning about all sorts of cultural norms and how society interprets life as a whole. I would argue that almost everyone has some type of experience in their life with bullying, and it is a term that I haven't heard of in a while, it could even be as long as a few years since I've heard of it. The problem is that bullying still occurs no matter the age is. People just learn how to deal with it or hide it differently. From what I've gathered from this generation is that at my age (19), everyone wants to one up each other in every possible way. For social media, self assurance, social status, or whatever it is. For some reason that is all anyone cares about. In a sense this is bullying because it is putting people down to benefit one's self. Whether it is out of fun, competition, or pure insecurity, it means that people have something in them that is causing them to do it. Typically when a person is insecure about something they seek the idea of putting someone down to make themselves feel better. The fact of it is, someone who is truly happy with their life and who loves who they are, does not need to put someone down to better themselves. A huge problem is social media and how everything is being broadcasted for everyone to see. Which leads into my next point. No matter who you are with, where you are, or what you are doing, someone can record you doing something and put it out on the internet for the world to see. That is not right. Whether or not it is consented, people should be able to live their lives day to day without being broadcasted all over media. That goes for anyone. My dad always tells me to shut my social media apps off, because "If someone needs to get a hold of you, they will call or text you. Nobody needs to know what you are doing 24-7. Simple as that." Which has stuck with me a lot this year. I shut off twitter, facebook, and limit my snapchat and instagram use more and more every day. People obsess over how many likes, followers, and snap streaks they have and it is so pointless, because it means nothing. That is one of the greatest problems this generation is facing and it is painful to think about what the next generation is going to be like. Social status has some to do with these problems at a young age. In elementary and middle school bullying starts and is when kids are educated on it. As they mature and grow, it either stays with them or doesn't. Sadly, that is just part of life. As a society we can all meet the expectations as role models by educating this age group and showing them what life is about, rather than letting technology and one upping each other take over. The quote from this weeks reading I chose is relevant because severe bullying completely influences who people turn out to be later in life with their mental state and confidence level. In my sociology class we are learning about all sorts of Cultural Norms and behaviors that reflect on behaviors. The psychology behind it is pretty interesting to see and can change the outlook on it. The problem the world and generation faces today is the blinding of technology and the misconception of what life is supposed to be. Bullying is going on at every age, and technology makes it an easier outlet. Education, ethics, and moderation can help everyone understand that life is right in front of us, not on an app or on a screen. Bullying is going to go on irregardless, but if we help educate youth then cyberbullying can be moderated and cut down. Bullying's aggressors are not solely their peers, it comes from everywhere now. We just need to learn how to help people understand the power the world has given us with all of the endless possibility.