Teen Ink Tackles Bullying

Shocking first-hand accounts of bullying in the latest issue of Teen Ink

BOSTON, Sept. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Until you've seen bullying through a teen's eyes, you have no idea of the intense turmoil that young people face every day. A series of shocking first-hand accounts written by teenagers in the latest issue of Teen Ink magazine suggest that the bullying crisis has reached increasingly severe proportions, following teens everywhere in their 24/7 digitally connected world and revealing a culture of cruelty that adults seem disinterested in changing.

In its September issue, Teen Ink, the nation's largest monthly print magazine written entirely by teens for teens, tackles the complicated issue of bullying by asking teens to share their perspectives and accounts – including devastating personal stories – as well as their insights on how to address the problem.

"Today bullying follows you home. The Internet is always there, 24/7," writes Madelyn Noel of Covington, La. "Severe cyberbullying can lead to anxiety, depression, and in rare cases, even suicide. Unlike a schoolyard taunt, cyberbullying is long lasting. Messages and photos posted on the Internet may resurface later and renew the pain."

Teen Ink's bullying issue follows an essay project conducted in partnership with The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof, which enabled Teen Ink to collect over 1,200 stories from teenagers across the nation on a topic the Department of Education considers an increasingly serious problem for today's youth. In their accounts, expressions of deep discouragement over a culture of cruelty ring out. "Meanness isn't just a teen problem. It's in adults too, everywhere," writes Gabriel Sandler of Lake Oswego, Ore.

Most damning to the recent efforts schools and communities have undertaken to combat bullying, many teens shared their dissatisfaction with adults' responses to bullying, citing their obliviousness and questioning the worth of reporting incidents.

"Growing up I was told by adults to ignore bullying or accept my abuse as jealousy – a form of misguided admiration," writes Karen Maldonado of Houston, Texas. "I soon realized that the biggest problem with addressing bullying is the simple fact that we often choose to accept it."

"Severely bullied kids often become America's very own 'invisible children,' ignored by their peers – except the ones who continually harass them," writes Aidan Combs of Verona, Wis. "They often don't seek help because they don't think anyone will care."

About Teen Ink

Now in its 24th year, Teen Ink is the nation's largest monthly print magazine written entirely by teens for teens. Every year, millions of students read the magazine, which speaks directly to their interests and needs. Teen Ink provides a national outlet for real teens to express themselves – an important alternative to most newsstand magazines that often present an unrealistic image of teen life.  

Welcomed in middle schools, high schools, and libraries nationwide, Teen Ink magazine is completely about empowering teens and providing them with a responsible forum to express their ideas, concerns, and creativity and to let teens know that they are valued and respected. More than 55,000 teens have been published in the print magazine alone.

With over 400,000 pages of teen-generated content, TeenInk.com is the largest website of its kind. The site has more than 6 million visitors and 24 million page views per year.

Teen Ink has no staff writers and there are no assigned stories. There is no charge to submit or be published, and Teen Ink editors read every submission before it is published. The magazine and website are published by the nonprofit Young Authors Foundation.

SOURCE Teen Ink