Want to know all the different types of bullying you’ll possibly encounter throughout life? Here are all the types, sub-types, and categories you need to know.
If you’re a victim of bullying, chances are that you don’t only suffer one particular type of bullying. You likely suffer from many different kinds.
Therefore, in this post, you will learn about all the different types of bullying, including categories and subtypes.
Once you learn all about this crucial information, you will be better able to protect yourself and tailor your defense to each type.
This post is all about the types of bullying so that you will be able to recognize different kinds of bullying when they happen to you.
Types of Bullying
Bullying comes in many forms. Let’s discuss the categories first, and then we will get into the types.
Categories
The categories of bullying depend on the setting in which it occurs. In other words, where it happens. For instance, people can bully you at school, on the job, or at home.
1. School Bullying
School bullying happens at school, and mostly children and teens are victims.
Types of bullying in school.
The most common kind that occurs in school is physical bullying. Because children’s minds are still developing, they are more likely to attack their victims physically.
School bullies also target children who are smaller, weaker, and have few to no friends.
However, as they get older, they learn better ways to hide their behavior. Therefore, they later avoid physical bullying and lean more toward social, emotional, cyber, and psychological bullying.
If you are bullied in school, students and teachers may bully you. Moreover, it may negatively impact your grades and class performance. School bullying destroys the mental health of millions of children and teens every day.
2. Types of Bullying:
Workplace Bullying
This kind of bullying happens at work. If you suffer from this type of aggression, you may be bullied by coworkers and supervisors. Bullying at work includes exclusion, sabotage, and the blocking of opportunities.
Moreover, you may also suffer verbal abuse, gaslighting, and people may send you nasty emails. Understand that workplace bullying is designed to destroy your self-esteem and destroy your job and career prospects.
3. Family Bullying
This type of bullying happens at home. For instance, an abusive husband may bully his wife, or an older sibling may bully the younger.
No matter who does it or who the bullying is aimed at, it is heartbreaking to those who suffer it.
4. Neighborhood Bullying
This kind of bullying happens in the neighborhood. Maybe you have a neighbor who is disabled and acts differently from others. You might see other neighbors bullying that person because they are different.
I’ve seen this happen to a few people myself, and it was painful to watch. And I can tell you that it was agonizing for them.
Nevertheless, if you are a victim, the best way to overcome it is to relocate to a safer area, if you can afford to do so.
5. Types of Bullying:
Intimate Relationship Bullying
This happens when one partner bullies the other. For instance, you have spousal abuse, dating violence, or intimate partner abuse. Whether the couple is married or just dating, abuse is abuse and bullying is abuse.
Therefore, if you are dating and your partner abuses you, it’s so crucial that you end the relationship. Why? Because once you marry this person, getting out of the relationship will be expensive.
Types:
The types of bullying depend on the kind of tactics bullies employ. For instance, do they bully you physically or psychologically?
1. Physical Bullying
This kind of bullying happens when the bully makes direct contact with the victim’s body to cause bodily injury. Physical bullies may punch or kick you. They may also choke you, pull your hair, or shove you. They may even trip you or deliberately run into you in the hall and pretend it was an accident.
Destroying your personal property also falls into this category.
Understand that no one has the right to put their hands on you. So, if anyone raises a hand to you, you have the right to hit them back. It’s the only way your bullies will keep their hands to themselves.
2. Types of Bullying:
Verbal BULLYING
Verbal bullying can be done openly through bursts of rage, overt personal attacks, name-calling, and threats of physical violence. Open verbal bullying aims to strike fear in you.
It also seeks to make it clear to you that the bully is controlling you and that you’d better acquiesce, or the bully will hurt you. Moreover, it dares you to protest against it or defend yourself. In open bullying, bullies instill terror in bystanders as well by making you the example.
Why do most bullies bully you with words? They do it to discourage, disrespect, and devalue you. Also, they attack you with words to diminish your confidence and self-esteem.
3. Non-Verbal Bullying
Many bullies use body language to bully you. For example, they may give you a threatening look from across a crowded room. Maybe one of them looks at you and makes the slitting throat gesture to let you know what you can expect later.
You may ask, “Why do bullies use gestures? Why don’t they just come out and say it directly?”
The reason seasoned bullies prefer facial expressions and gestures is that they are silent and less detectable to others. In other words, it’s just a sneakier way for them to try to intimidate you without getting caught or in trouble.
4. Types of Bullying:
psychological bullying
Why do the best and most seasoned bullies prefer psychological bullying? Because this type of harassment offers easy deniability.
Unlike the physical kind, psychological bullying is less evident to others outside the bully-victim dynamic. It leaves no visible bruises, cuts, or wounds.
Therefore, you have no proof that any bullying ever took place. The bullies can easily deny any incidents if you get fed up and report them.
Moreover, it’s easy for them to make you look bad if you call them out. Afterward, the bullies can brand you as mentally unstable.
Then they can destroy your credibility, reputation, and relationships as a form of retaliation. And the best part for them is that they can continue and escalate the harassment later.
5. Social Bullying (Sometimes Called Relational Aggression)
Social bullies are like obsessive exes who won’t allow you to move on from the hurt. You know the type- an ex who claims they don’t want you but doesn’t want anyone else to have you either.
Bullies use social bullying to lower your social standing, isolate you, and wreck your existing friendships and relationships to wield power over you. Social bullying tactics include exclusion, rumors, gossip, and smear campaigns.
These tactics are designed to decrease your popularity and destroy your reputation. If bullies succeed at these things, then they can have more power over you. Remember that any form of bullying is about power.
Therefore, social bullies gain power over you by ruining your connections with others.
6. Types of Bullying:
Cyber-Bullying
Cyber-bullying is bullying through electronics, such as smartphones, computers, and the internet. The tactics include sending you mean private messages and posting negative social media posts about you.
Also, other methods include sending you harassing text messages, creating embarrassing memes about you, or posting humiliating photos of you without your consent.
In severe cases, bullies can dox you and find out your personal information, such as your home address, phone number, and place of employment. They can either go so far as to find the names of your family members and make them public for other bullies and nefarious actors.
Subtypes
Each type of bullying, such as verbal bullying, has different subtypes. For instance, using sarcasm is considered passive-aggressive, verbal bullying.
1. Passive-Aggressive Bullying
Passive-aggressive bullying is one of the most cowardly forms. When these types of bullies insult you, they’re slick about it. These types of bullies don’t have the guts to make a direct attack.
They catch you off guard. They taunt you in such a way that you may have difficulty figuring out who it’s aimed at. You won’t even know it’s directed at you until it’s way too late for you to deliver a good comeback.
Why? Because the bully may not necessarily address it to you. Instead, they’ll tell it to everyone else around you… right in front of you. However, they’ll do it in a way that leaves you in doubt. You will question yourself.
But the bystanders nearby will immediately know who the covert nastiness is meant for. Passive-aggressive attacks include sarcasm, zingers, digs, and sneak dissing.
In fact, sneak dissing is the most common form of passive-aggression. It’s the kind of attack where the bully talks about you without naming you.
And they usually do it where you can hear. But, at the same time, they hope it flies right over your head or that you won’t have the guts to clap back. The reason bullies do this is to avoid a direct conflict with you.
2. Types of Bullying:
Passive BULLYING
Passive bullying is cowardly, too. Passive attacks include exclusion and withholding information. Passive bullies may also quietly sabotage your work, give you the silent treatment, or avoid eye contact.
This type of bullying is the most difficult to spot.
3. Bullying By-Proxy
Bullying by proxy is when bullies recruit and send others to bully you on their behalf. When you think of by-proxy bullying, think “flying monkeys.”
When someone bullies on behalf of a lead bully, they are being used as a stand-in. Why? Because the real bully doesn’t have the stones to confront you.
4. Covert Bullying (Subtle Bullying)
Covert or subtle bullying is the kind that happens behind the scenes. Gossiping behind your back would be a form of covert bullying.
Smear campaigns and social/relational bullying are also kinds of covert bullying. Subtle bullies also set you up to be humiliated or jumped.
Again, these people bully behind closed doors. They silently plot and plan behind your back. Then they blindside you with something horrible.
5. Types of Bullying:
Overt Bullying
Overt bullying happens out in the open. Physical bullying is overt. Verbal bullying that involves yelling and cursing is also overt.
Bullies often bully overtly because they’re either not afraid of being caught or they fear no consequences. Bullying usually starts covertly but becomes overt once the bullies have gotten away with it for so long.
6. Group Bullying (Mobbing)
Group bullying is when a large mob of people gang up on one person. This kind of bullying is also called mobbing. The tactics can include all forms, from social bullying to physical.
7. Bullying By Teachers and school Staff
This kind of bullying happens to children and teens. Teachers and school staff may begin bullying a young student after other kids have bullied them for years.
The student’s reputation has been destroyed and teachers have often heard repeated lies and vicious rumors. And they believe them. Therefore, they join in on abusing the student.
This post is about all the types of bullying so that you will be able to recognize each one when it happens to you.
Related posts you’ll enjoy:
1. Covert Bullying Examples: 7 Must-Know Tactics Covert Bullies Use
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Aum Shanti
Thank you so much, Shanti!
I experienced most of these except for cyber bullying, which makes me glad there was no internet around at the time or I would have. Kudos to you for pointing these types of bullying out for future generations.
Thank you so much, Michael! It was my pleasure.
Excellent straight to the point post. I want to touch on a few things starting with cyberbullying. That one was huge because many people are essentially on the net 24/7. And I have even seen when people play video games online against others it turning into bullying. If you are active online at some point, it is likely someone is going to try and test you. They think they are safe behind the keyboard. For example, Cherie, with the advocacy work you do, bullies you endured even though you don’t use actual names sadly are still going to try and attack. They don’t comprehend how pathetic it is for a middle aged adult to have not grown up. They also fail to recognize I suspect that the teenage Cherie isn’t the same strong Cherie White of today.
I am running long on my first thought so I will make a separate comment.
Thank you, Kandi. And I agree. In fact, a few of them have tried to cyberbully me in the last 10 years. I just laugh and screenshot them, then expose them. When I did that, they stopped. Thankfully, I haven’t heard from any of them in a few years. So, it worked.
Another one you talked about is family bullying. That one and work place bullying are the two I think people overlook. Family bullying is hard sometimes to discern because it is very normal for some sibling rivalry stuff. That isn’t bullying though it can become that if for instance a sibling trashes their brother or sister in school in front of others etc. But I have seen it with cousins and sadly even a mean parent to their child who constantly belittle and makes consistent snide remarks. For example let’s say a child is overweight and mom or dad constantly call them fat, etc. Words that destroy self-esteem. Let me also say sometimes the bullying can border or become verbal abuse. Sad when your worst enemy is your family.
Let me also say this can occur in marriages as well. Tearing down your partner is bullying at the very least. It is sort of like marriage rape. Some people believe a husband or wife can’t rape their partner. They absolutely can.
People have to also watch the jealous partner. The one that doesn’t want someone to have opposite sex friends and sometimes even same sex friends. The one who misconstrues everything. You can value a friendship or even see someone as a great catch, handsome/beautiful, nice person etc and view them as an attractive person without pursuing them etc. Also, bullying can occur when someone has a hobby or interest their spouse isn’t into or doesn’t understand. Sometimes a spouse will discourage one’s interest or find an excuse to distract them or even call their interest stupid. Or they may complain when their spouse is spending money on a project, hobby or starting up a new business trying to destroy their dream.
Sadly, you’re right. In fact, most bullying does come from jealousy, and that includes spousal and domestic abuse. Also, family bullying. Bullying is abuse, and abuse is bullying. They are one and the same. And people who are jealous will bully you to tear you down. Family bullying is the saddest because they are people who are supposed to love you.