Bullying is the activity of repeated, aggressive behavior intended to hurt another individual, physically, mentally, or emotionally.
Bullying is characterized by the following three minimum criteria: (1) hostile intent, (2) imbalance of power, and (3) repetition over a period of time.
Bullying ranges from one-on-one, individual bullying through to group bullying, in which the bully may have one or more “lieutenants” who are willing to assist the primary bully in their bullying activities.
A bullying culture can develop in any context. This may include school, family, the workplace, the home, and neighborhoods. The main platform for bullying in contemporary culture is on social media websites.
Bullying may be defined in many different ways. Bullying is divided into four basic types of abuse – psychological (sometimes called emotional or relational), verbal, physical, and cyber.
Read more about the 4 types of bullying.