Have you ever spread a rumor about someone that you knew was false? Did you know that is a form of bullying? Bullying has become a huge issue within the past few years. Gossiping and bullying are not the same thing, but the negativity of gossiping can lead to bullying.

Bullying has new outcomes now; some people have been bullied so badly that it has resulted in the victims committing suicide. Due to the increase of bullying in high schools, the suicide rate among teenagers has gone up drastically.

Junior Jacqui Russo says, “Gossiping can be deadly. Someone can tell their friend a secret, but that person may not be able to keep it to themselves. Next thing you know, the whole school is talking about it. Everyone is talking and making fun of that person. Gossiping can hurt a person and their reputation, that’s how it relates to bullying.”

A teacher, Mrs. Maher, says, “when people talk about others ‘behind their backs’ it causes trouble because they usually tell more one person who tells more than one person and so on. It will eventually get back to the person they are talking about. This would probably cause that person to be really upset and he or she may feel left out. He or she might feel as if the whole school is laughing at them and he or she would feel very alone and signaled out. This is bullying to me because no one should feel alone ever.”

Gossiping, on the other hand, is something that everyone does. However, Sometimes people might not intentionally gossip about a person, but if done in such a negative way it can make the victim feel threatened. Gossiping is something that will always happen.  The danger in it is that it spreads quickly and can affect the person instantly.

Gossiping is not bullying, but there is a point in which it can have a negative effect. That is when it becomes bullying. Sometimes gossiping will not ruin a person’s reputation, but when gossip turns negative – it can start out as a joke, but then it can go too far – when it crosses a line for the victim, it then becomes bullying