Public humiliation, threats or insults, as well as non-public – there can be no place in the culture of communication of a healthy person. This aggressive behavior is called bullying.
Bullying does not exist only within the walls of schools, as is commonly believed. Not only schoolchildren can hear stories about how the conditional class leader allows himself to publicly humiliate, in his opinion, the weak members of the team. Adults and quite influential people can also become victims of bullying. Research shows that 31% of Americans experience bullying as adults, including at work [1] .
There are several explanations for why workplace bullying occurs. Bullying has been linked to working conditions, company culture, workloads and conflicts of interest. Other studies attribute bullying to a combination of work and personal factors or conflict.
People who resort to bullying and humiliation often want to demonstrate their status or assert themselves in this way. They may have low self-esteem, be unable to build healthy relationships with people, or be victims of bullying themselves.
At the same time, humiliation and insults have a negative impact even on mature adults. The consequences of bullying can include suicidal thoughts or attempts, depression, trouble sleeping, stress and anxiety.
In addition to the psychological consequences, victims of bullying can have persistent headaches or back pain. Work efficiency may also decrease. People who experience workplace bullying are more likely to feel dissatisfied or burdened with their job. [2]
A separate type of bullying is cyberbullying (psychological violence online, in social networks).
This practice is widely used in politics – when a high-ranking person, the “father of the nation” begins to humiliate lower-ranking officials, for example, arranging a public “flogging” for them in front of television cameras. To harass political opponents, they use attacks from Internet bots and ordered materials, but sometimes just one post on a social network or video message is enough to humiliate a person and violate the chain of command.
At the same time, the practice of public humiliation in politics negatively affects popular culture and the behavior of adolescents, who are especially susceptible to influence. Public communication of politicians, celebrities and other influential people are role models, which negatively affects adolescents, and can lead to an increase in the level of aggression. [3]
Knowing the causes of bullying and the harm it causes is a good opportunity to start changing the culture of communication: in social networks, at meetings, workshops and at home
