He said, she said, they said, I’m sure you’ve heard those words before in our school. Indirect bullying, acting on forms of relational aggression towards one or more students. What does that even mean?
Indirect bullying is the action of doing things like purposefully manipulating friendships, gossiping, talking bad about someone behind their backs, doing mean gestures behind their backs ( unkind faces, comments..), or even just the indirect targeting of someone(s) in particular. Many people don’t consider this bullying, but I’m going to discuss how this can be the make or break of a single student’s mental health.
Statistics show from medium.com that most students who have been indirectly bullied or gossiped about struggle with severe depression and even self harm or suicidal thoughts, just from being gossiped about. Many people talk about others and don’t give a second thought, but it actually has a much larger impact than you might think.
“Students have many challenges they need to face daily in school without being bullied or harassed (academics, college, jobs, home life, etc).” stated school counselor Rachel Alderfer. Talking about others or telling others not to talk to someone is bullying. These actions can prevent students from making friends, feeling comfortable in their school environment, or even just feeling safe to come to school which is atrocious.
“When there is a constant barrage of small forms of harassment (rumors, exclusion, purposely bumping into people in the hallway, making noises or faces at someone, etc) at school, a student leaves and still has to deal with the consequences online. It can be very damaging to a person’s mental health,” said Alderfer. She continued, “We see the results of indirect bullying and harassment often in our office. Students have high anxiety and depression, feel isolated or alone, and feel hopeless.”
The end statement is basically just to think before you speak about them negatively. Think before you spread that rumor about them, think before you call them names, think before you tell people not to talk to them. Think about the impact you’re having on them, think before you speak, and be a safe student in our school.
