TEENS: What are your views of bullying?

[Lainey]

I'm a teenager. I've been bullied before, and I switched schools. It's not bad now, it's fine (don't worry!). Has bullying gotten worse? Definitely. Before, it would be hell at school, but then when people got Facebook and Twitter and other sites, it follows you home and it's all there too. I don't think that kids are getting softer, I think kids are the same as they have been for a long time, changing only as they grow up. Social media definitely has an effect. People make so many negative comments in order to be "funny" and make themselves seem cool. When everyone does it, everyone gets hurt. It just causes anxieties and worries, in my opinion. What can be done about bullying? I think all bullies should be expelled from school or suspended. That was people would know that it's not funny. It's not cool. Gay bashing is something I noticed before I transferred a lot. It hurts when people make fun of one's sexual orientation (I'm pansexual, so I understand a bit of gay bashing, but mostly people left that alone.) Slut shaming is just as bad. People are all "ooh, they deserve it!!!" No one deserves to be bullied. No one. Ever.