Bullying is alive and well. Perhaps it has been alive and well for centuries, if not thousands of years. When you think evolutionarily and watch the mating process of birds and mammals, it is apparent that “bullies” get the girl.
The word “bully” first appeared in the English language in the 1530’s but it was a term of endearment for either sex derived from a Dutch word, boel, which meant “lover’ or “brother”. It evolved through the centuries to the late 1600’s to mean a ruffian or a cruel person who intimidates those who are weaker. “To bully” was first mentioned as a verb in 1710. Does this mean that the development of this word evolved as humans recognized this behavior as unacceptable and not a positive trait?
What we have recognized is bullying is not good or useful for our society. Efforts to change this behavior remains minimally helpful. According to data from Cyberbullying Research Center in person school bullying rates jumped from roughly 22 % in 2021 to over 35% in 2025/2026.
Educators attribute this spike to years of pandemic-related social disruption, which left many students struggling with basic stress management, problem-solving, and face-to-face relationships.
There are basically 3 forms of childhood bullying: Physical bullying; hitting, kicking, pushing, stealing, damaging belongings; Verbal bullying; hurtful teasing, name-calling, threatening out loud or in writing; social bullying; when 2 or more children go after another child.
Cyberbullies often start rumors or pass them along, reveal a child’s private information, post embarrassing pictures or videos, steal passwords and lock kids out of their own accounts and use artificial intelligence to make and share humiliating images or memes. Over the last years, a highly dangerous trend is happening with the use of artificial intelligence that can make non-consensual, deep fake, or artificial photos to humiliate peers in school.
The physical type of bullying as shown in books and films is at an all-time low and is about 14% of reported cases. Presently it is more psychological and verbal. Of the 14 %, 73% are of direct insults, name-calling and targeting the victim’s appearance. Forty-eight percent of the 14% is intentionally forbidding students from lunch tables, group chats or social circles.
Bullying is mostly about power. Bullies want to feel powerful and in control. They tend to pick on others with either smaller or larger bodies, different racial or ethic backgrounds, physical differences such as birth defects or injuries, intellectual disabilities or extreme shyness.
Females are more likely to be bullied than males but that may be changing. Cyberbullying among boys is surging driven by toxic interactions within online gaming communities and group text threads.
Healthychildren.org suggest that children being bullied should be taught to look the aggressor in the eye, stand still and then calmly walk away. Cyberbullying is against the law in all 50 states. (/English/family-life/Media/pages/Cyberbullying.aspx explains how to work with the bullied child to shut down bullies online.)
Bullying isn’t just “kids being kids”. It’s a problem for all.
by Sally Robinson, MD Clinical Professor
Keeping Kids Healthy
Published 09/2026