Bullying, Incognito: Deliberate Social Exclusion

When we think of bullying, a picture of aggression is typically conjured — the taunting, name-calling, and physical abuse. Beyond the playground in the adult world, however, bullying often takes place masked in more insidious forms. Deliberate social exclusion can manifest in many ways across situations, occurring in the context of university, work, or within a group if people not connected by their field of study or job. You may, at some point in your life, have been in a recurring situation where you approach a group of people in mid-chatter only to have conversation come to an abrupt halt. Perhaps a social gathering was organized after work one night, which you found out about while unsuspectingly scrolling through your newsfeed on Facebook the next day. In another example, a message containing important information was purposefully disseminated to everyone for whom it was relevant — except you. As much as you don’t want to care, and as much as you hate to admit it, it still hurts. The definition of bullying is not limited to overt harassment, but encompasses any repeated actions intended to cause distress physically or emotionally. Being quietly victimized by “under-the-table” torment of sort can deal an equally or even more damaging blow to the individual than bullying in its more explicit form. Even more frustratingly, no tangible evidence necessary for a confrontation exists for you to point to; nothing really that couldn’t be turned around and used...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Bullying Children and Teens Friends Industrial and Workplace LifeHelper Relationships Self-Esteem Self-Help Students Trauma Friendship Harassment Personality social exclusion Social Psychology socializing systematic abuse Source Type: blogs