First and foremost, if you haven’t seen the movie Mean Girls, stop whatever you are doing and go watch it. It’s a classic. It came out in 2004 and essentially showed the world, comedically, how adolescent bullying had become more than just making fun of someone’s outfit or stealing their lunch money. It showed bullying as meticulous, manipulative, and strategic. Bullying transformed over the years from picking on people to intentionally trying to ruin their lives.
I don’t think it matters who you are, where you are from, how you were raised, how old you are, or if your dad invented Toaster Strudel…everyone wants to fit in. No one wants to be the person who walks into a room, and everyone stops talking. Now, kids don’t just have to worry about what people say in the lunchroom. Thanks to smartphones, they have access to everyone all the time and can spread rumors, tell secrets, and architect the perfect plan to destroy someone else’s confidence and self-worth.
People often say, “I got bullied all the time when I was younger; these kids are just babied now.” People mention how no one can take a joke anymore or how everyone is always offended, with their feelings being hurt too easily. Perhaps, instead of wanting to prove that we had it just as bad or worse as the kids do now, there should be more concern with why things have changed so much that the bullying these kids are experiencing encompasses their entire life.
It’s been almost 20 years since Mean Girls came out. Look at everything that has happened in our world since 2004. Take a moment to re-imagine Mean Girls through the lens of a youth in 2022. Would we even be able to stomach watching it? So, does it really matter if you believe you had it worse in high school than kids do now? Regardless of that, shouldn’t we be trying to be the change the world to reflect the change we want to see? Misery shouldn’t be a competition. I don’t have the answer to how to stop the vindictiveness and manipulativeness of children today. I wish I could bake a cake made of rainbows and smiles. What I do know, however, is that just because we think we had it bad when we were younger doesn’t negate our current youth experience. I encourage everyone reading this to reflect on what can be done to create a world where everyone can sit together regardless of wearing pink on Wednesdays.
When I was in school, the bullying didn’t continue once I got home. I found sanctuary and respite from people during the after-school hours, knowing that whatever happened that day would be forgotten by tomorrow. Or, in the worst-case scenario, it would continue during the lunch hour the following day. Now, everyone has a computer, a tablet, iPad, a smartphone, smartwatch; there is no limit to the exposure of hurtful comments. Those devices allow the bullying to literally be in the palm of their hands at all times. At the same time, “keyboard courage” allows for hurtful messages to be made anonymously without fearing confrontation or accountability for the bully. No “Burn Book” copying is necessary to spread rumors around like wildfire. I know what you are thinking: just turn it off, stop looking at social media, and stop following that person. Doing that creates a situation where the kid will walk into school the next morning, wondering what everyone is whispering about. This situation creates anxiety and paranoia. In other words, ignorance isn’t always bliss.
