Cyberbullies Are Taught, Not Born

You don't have to go very far to see adults behaving badly. It's rampant in your Facebook feeds, in Twitter, and pretty much every facet of media.

Here's just a couple of examples take from the day I wrote this post:

For generations, psychologists and law enforcement have been assessing the home lives of those who perpetrate crimes. It may not be 100 percent of the time, but in many cases, if a child has witnessed their parents disrespect for authority, bully their spouse, steal or cheat in some way, it leaves a resounding impact.

Children learn bullying behavior from their parents. While it's difficult to find links that say this about cyberbullying, the correlation can still be made because cyberbullying is still bullying, whether you're a child or an adult.

Hate begets hate.

I don't have to tell you that adult bullying is rampant in the workplace. We've all had that boss or know of a co-worker who makes life miserable for the rest.

Here is an interesting post about serial bullies from bullyonline.org.

So if all these bullies have kids... But the reality is, bullying behavior is now an online reality. This is the new real life. You can turn off your computer, but it will still be there for the rest of the world to see.

There is a wonderful movie I just saw online that focuses on a school cyberbullying incident to which I will discuss in another post. Some bullies may not think of themselves as bullies, until someone exposes them. Others don't care. But if a child is a bully, chances are the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. If all adults, whether parents or not, checked themselves before they lash out, before they make a mean comment, think of their motive before posting something, and know that someone is always watching and waiting to use their lead, then maybe we can change the world, one post at a time. Respect, regardless of race, religion, size, culture, age, job title, politics, hair color, clothing, sexual orientation, or country.