What do adults not get about bullying?
CBC News
Posted: Oct 17, 2012 9:45 AM PT
Last Updated: Oct 17, 2012 9:10 PM PT
Related
Related Stories
CBC News Vancouver held a live forum on bullying at a North Vancouver secondary school on Wednesday that asked the question: What do adults not get about bullying?
The forum at Argyle Secondary School was hosted by local television news anchor Gloria Macarenko and B.C. Almanac host Mark Forsythe.
Students at Argyle shared their personal experiences and observations.
"A lot of things have changed since their generation in terms of social media and just how bullying happens in general," said Grade 12 student Austin.
"So we think that there’s a lot of different things and different approaches that we need to take ... taking peer approaches and making it socially unacceptable to bully, just like we have with other movements like women’s rights all through our history."
Lucy, another Grade 12 student, agreed social media has changed the landscape of bullying.
Students shared their personal experiences with bullying. (CBC)"I think, especially when I talked to my parents about it, they had a stereotypical view of a bully ... the really tough kids that push kids into lockers, and it’s not like that anymore with Facebook and twitter. It’s easier to be anonymous with it."
Cyrus, now in Grade 12, told CBC he was bullied in Grade 9.
"Parents don’t put themselves in their children’s shoes and they don’t understand ... When I was bullied, when adults finally intervened, the severity of the situation actually increased and it made the bullying worse," he said.
"I was bullied because I was different — I was a small kid and I dressed differently, I guess — and I was bullied to the point where I was threatened to be hurt, online and at school."
Cyrus said he was too scared to tell anyone, and nothing changed until the school's administration finally intervened in a way that stopped the bullying.
"It was definitely something that really affected me but on the whole I was very lucky because I didn’t feel the need to take it to the level that Amanda Todd did, and there’s just so many extremes out there that people are getting bullied look towards," Cyrus said.
"But they’ve got to realize that they’ve got to be stronger and there’s better purpose and them being bullied, it’s not their fault — it’s society and it’s everybody else ... and they’ve just got to lift themselves above that."
Teenagers, teachers and parents also weighed in on our live chat and on twitter. Click below to replay the online chat.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- Nanaimo Facebook group takes aim at thieves
- Residents fed up with petty crime in Nanaimo have turned to social media to try to prevents theft. more »
- Bid to re-open Langley Speedway
- A Metro Vancouver committee is considering a proposal to re-open the Langley Speedway that closed almost three decades ago. more »
- Petition looks to rename Victoria Day
- A group that includes some prominent Canadian actors, writers and politicians is calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to change the name of Victoria Day. more »
- NDP wants RCMP inquiry into $90K payment to Duffy
- The NDP has asked the RCMP to launch an investigation into the $90,000 payment from the prime minister's former top aide, Nigel Wright, to Senator Mike Duffy in relation to the Senate expense scandal. more »
Must Watch
Top News Headlines
- Unknown remains found on Dellen Millard's farm
- Police searching the farm of Dellen Millard, the 27-year-old charged with first-degree murder after the remains of Ancaster, Ont., man Tim Bosma were discovered, have found other remains on the property, but it's unclear if they are human or animal. more »
- Canadian on EI shut out amid foreign worker influx
- A jobless Canadian IT professional who is collecting employment insurance is upset because he now suspects several recent jobs he applied for went to temporary foreign workers. more »
- Can the Senate fire a senator?
- An expert on parliamentary rules says the Senate has the power to turf a senator from the chamber, as long as a majority approves the expulsion, and as long as there is cause. more »
- Tornado churns through Oklahoma City suburbs
- A tornado churned through Oklahoma City suburbs, destroying homes for the second day in a row Monday, as part of a severe weather outbreak that was expected to spread in other parts of the Plains and Midwest. more »
- Canadian on EI shut out amid foreign worker influx
- Vancouver man attacked, killed in Costa Rica
- Prince Andrew in Victoria for Highland Games
- East Vancouver residents in 'guerrilla gardening' campaign
- Thief robs, injures woman in wheelchair
- Jeep driver apologizes after stunt kills Edmonton woman
- Public raising funds to buy alleged Rob Ford crack video
- Rob Ford should resign if allegations true, councillors say
- Holmes Hydro can proceed without environmental assessment

