http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/teen-angst/201211/mean-vs-bullying
This article talks about the differences between the two by giving examples. It talks about how bullying is a hot topic in today's schools and that there is a good chance that it is being thrown around too loosely. When a person bullies, they are being mean, but being mean does not mean that it is bullying. Everyone is going to come into contact with people that they don't like or that they have confrontations with, but having such exchanges or dealing with rude people does not mean that these people are bullies. Many of us thought about how we have acted as bullies in our own lives. As I thought about this I did in fact consider myself to be a bully at some point in my life, but looking back on it I'm pretty sure I have never actually pestered and bothered and hurt someone intentionally on a daily basis just because I didn't like that person. I have done and said mean things to people, but never in a constant and tormenting way.
So I think it'll be good for us to look back and see if these same situations that we considered ourselves to be bullies in should actually be considered bullying, or if it is in fact just us being mean.
Here are some words used to describe "mean" and "bullying".
The following words have often been associated with the term “mean”:
- Selfish
- Nasty
- Despicable
- Unkind
- Cruel
- Spiteful
- Malicious
- Ignoble
- Disgraceful
- Miserly
- Stingy
- Inferior
- Wretched
- The following words have often been associated with the term “bully”:
- Tormentor
- Persecutor
- Oppressor
- Tyrant
- Intimidator
- Aggresso
- Disagreeable
- Unpleasant
- Ill-tempered
This post and your article are very interesting. I think a lot of us often mix up the terms "mean" and "bully" and it's quite interesting to look at the lists you provided and realize what it means to be "mean" and to be a "bully." I think that we find bullies to have many mean qualities so we are likely to pin the label of "bully" on anyone, but in today's terms, calling someone a bully when they are just mean might make us a bully ourselves.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the list of the words that were associated with mean and then the ones that were with bullying. I felt like they could have been both lists for both of the terms. These two topics are very similar and its hard to tell if there is a difference between the two.
ReplyDelete