Today is Pink Shirt Day. This year’s theme is cyberbullying.
Like I said in my video (you can watch it here), Pink Shirt Day is an initiative to raise awareness of bullying (cyberbullying, specifically). It’s important that we understand that there is power in numbers, and bullying can be stopped. (Please check out www.pinkshirtday.ca for resources and tips.)
Pink Shirt Day has its origins in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2007, and is now observed in many countries around the world.
I (like many) was bullied as a young child, but I was lucky for a number of reasons:
- My mom always had my back (I could talk to her about what I was going through)
- When it was really bad, there was usually one kid who was nice (even if they kept quiet against bullies)
- The bullying stopped when I changed schools in middle school (we moved, but not because of bullying)
- I really enjoyed my high school/post-secondary education
- Finally, I didn’t start using social media until I was a teenager
Cyberbullying and Social Media
I use social media as a freelance writer and social media manager all of the time (please check out The Write Results for more information), but the easy access that social media gives to bullies compounds the heartache and assault that bullied individuals feel. I can only imagine how bullied kids fare having to deal with cruelty in real life and online (yes, bullying can happen at any stage of life, but I think kids get the worst of it. Hopefully, adults know better than to bully others). A bully in school now has instant access to the bullied individual around the clock. Leaving school for the day does not mean that the bullying ends. If anyone reading this post is being bullied (cyberbullying or not), please reach out to someone that you trust. If you are being bullied online, please do as www.pinkshirtday.ca suggests, and refrain from engaging with the bully, and block the individual from seeing your accounts. This is sage advice, as there is no reasoning with a bully. (Of course, bullying is very different in comparison to an argument or disagreement.)
Like I said in my video regarding Pink Shirt Day, I’d like to thank David Shepard and Travis Price for inadvertently starting this global initiative eleven years ago. There is power in numbers. Bullying (including cyberbullying) can be stopped.
Are you wearing a pink shirt today? Please comment below!
Stand up to bullying, and give your life the green light. It’s A Go!
Amber Green