Is the Bullying Hysteria Warranted?

                All over the news today is another report about middle school kids bullying. This time though, the victim is an adult who was acting as a supervisor on their school bus. Bullying has become the latest buzzword when talking about the youth of America today. Suddenly, everybody is claiming to be a victim of “bullying.” According to news reports and a popular documentary, bullying has become arguably the leading problem facing middle school and high school age children today.

                That being said, I went through grade school. I went through junior high. I went through high school. Bullying is not a new thing. Kids have been being cruel to one another since the beginning of time. It is what kids do and there is nothing that can be done to change this. By no means do I condone bullying or anything of the sort. Being a victim of this type of abuse as an adolescent can have a permanent impact on somebody. I think that parents and administrators should be doing everything they can to prevent bullying from taking place.

                I have one simple question though, is bullying really more prevalent today than it was years ago? Or are we just much more aware of it because of the form it is taking. I have not been able to find any reliable statistics on the matter. I personally am inclined to believe that the percentage of kids being “bullied” has been near the same since the beginning of time. I simply believe that bullying has taken a new form with the advent of social media and the internet. Now kids are publishing and documenting their bullying online,  which thrusts it into the spotlight.

                What are your thoughts? Does anybody know where I can find good statistics on the prevalence of bullying today?