Dear Mr. President  

Adolescents here in America are having an immense and overwhelming social problem. Teens are being bullied by one another at all time high rates and it's affecting the lives of millions of teens and children. Unlike in times before, technology is vastly more available to adolescents which are fueling the flames of the bullying crisis. It feels as though bullying is overshadowed by other important issue adolescents face on the daily but I believe that its time this problem gets a spotlight.

Verbal and physical abuse is torturing children and teens in the millions and is adding to the amount of stress from their daily lives. In fact, 3.2 million children are victimized by bullying each year and 17% of American students report being bullied 2 to 3 times a month or more within a school semester (dosomething.org). These are pretty telling numbers and it tells a story that there is a need to understand these children and give the victims outlets to get their problems noticed. In another stat, it says that one in four teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will only intervene 4% of the time. This is the scariest and most disappointing part of bullying. We send our children to schools and then some of the teachers don't even care enough address their problems or try to fix the bullying crisis. In school, bullying rates could decrease if the adults in the building were given proper training on how to handle the situation when they notice it. Over 67% of students believe that schools respond poorly to bullying, with a high percentage of students believing that adult help is infrequent and ineffective (dosomething.org). It’s unacceptable that adults in the schools are not finding solutions and plans to combat the bullying crisis. As a result of bullying in school, 1 in 10 students drops out of school because of repeated bullying. It breaks my heart to know that children have to give up on opportunities in school in order to avoid the humiliation from bullies.

When the last bell rings in the school day and all the students head home, sometimes the hurtful words and humiliation don't stop, it continues on the internet. Cyberbullying is the use of technology and social media to harass and humiliate someone. Today in our technology advance society, many teens have access to vast technology. About 73 percent of teens have a smartphone. On the student’s smart phones, they have all the tools needed to be connected with one another. Unfortunately, some students find it easier and more acceptable if they say mean and disrespectful things through the screen. Cyber bullying victims are more likely to have low self-esteem and to consider suicide (www.bullyingstatistics.org). Unfortunately, about 7 to 9 percent of bully-victims including cyber, verbal, and physical, commit suicide.

Teens and adolescents already have enough stress from their day and the stress added from bullying is just unbearable. We need to teach kids, especially the ones that tend to be the predators, to learn to be respectful and sympathetic towards one another. Family’s should monitor their children internet use to make sure that they are using it appropriately. Children are the future of the world and this country, let's help them to learn to love one another and stop the hate. 

From

Sal Fabio