Many people don't realize how serious bullying has become. If you look at the statistics, suicides due to bullying have increased in just a few years. This has become a big problem not only for the victim but also for the bully and affects both of them. School bullying is mentally destructive not only to the victims, but also to the bullies, due to the harmful words, harassment, and physical violence involved, as well as the consequences for the bully. The general definition of bullying is: “… [This] states that a person is bullied when he or she is exposed repeatedly and over time to negative actions by one or more other people” (Aluede et al. 3). There are two different variations of the type of bullying: direct and indirect bullying (Aluede et al. 3). Direct bullying means attacking someone publicly, while someone harassing their victim by banishing them socially is a form of indirect bullying (Aluede et al. 3). Many people think that the typical bullying situation is physical, but it can go beyond (“Verbal Bullying” 1) Bullying can be divided into four different areas of harassment; physical, verbal, emotional and cyber bullying ("adolescent bullying" 1). Physical bullying is one of the easiest types of harassment to identify (Aluede et al. 5). Bullies use physical force to hit, kick, or even damage someone's property, "[including] books, clothes, or lunch money" ("Physical Bullying" 1). Physical harassment is typically found more in males than in females, but they are still able to portray these crimes or become victims themselves (“physical bullying” 1). They may have various reasons for behaving in a bullying manner towards their victims, for example to have control or to be recognized (“physical bullying” 1). A p...... middle of paper...... accept bullying” (Business Wire 1). Laws have been passed to prevent bullying (“Bullying Statistics” 1). “As of October 2010, 45 states had bullying laws, while no similar laws existed in the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota, with New York being one of the most recent states to pass legislation" ("Bullying Statistics" 1). Bullying has become a real problem in the last ten to twenty years. If these actions by bullies are not put to an end, suicides and school shootings will become more prevalent in future to come. Everyone should take a stand against these horrible, misunderstood people. “Unless and until programs are established to address the severity and potential life-threatening nature of bullying that is prevalent in most schools today, the Teen suicide rates will undoubtedly increase” (Clarke 1).