[Sigh.] Why am I having to write this? Why can’t we just see who can make the wittiest comments against each other like in the good old days? Why is it that people respond to others with rudeness or threats? Since when was playing nice and being mature not admirable?

When I was in middle school, I would beg my mom to let me stay home from school every day. “Why?” she would ask, and I would tell her I didn’t feel very well. Really, I dreaded going to school because I couldn’t imagine spending another day around people who seemed to spend their time imagining ways to make me dread school. Almost overnight, the little kid arguments that would be gotten over within the hour turned into increasingly hurtful jabs and occasionally physical altercations. I thought I lacked some type of courage or bravery that these girls had, but now I know better.

I noticed something about these disputes, whether I was the subject of them or an onlooker. The next day, no one talked about how awful X person was for saying the things she said. No one talked about how person X had no reason to put hands on anyone else. No, they talked about how funny what the bully said was and how the bullied totally lost the fight.

However, back in those days, you could just go home with your flip phone and exist in peace. Now? Not so much.

Now is the age of social media and being in nonstop contact with everyone. The situations that used to end at 3 o’clock will follow you home. Even more than that, people you may not even know can come at you online.

We’re in the age where being called ‘savage’ and ‘petty’ are better than being respectful and classy.

We’re in the age where standing up for yourself can be harder and scarier than ever before, because everyone and their friends want to get a piece of the action, whether they’re at all involved or not.

If you want to hear just how much the internet has amplified bullying,watch Monica Lewinsky’s TED© talk called “The Price of Shame.”

So here I offer you advice, from one non-confrontational person to another. Don’t buy into it. I know how desperately you want to stand up for yourself with an undoubtably witty tweet. I know how tempting it is to get draw into the drama. I know you want to be the big dog on top for once. I know it gets your adrenaline going and you just want to be the one that totally burned that person this time, but take a deep breath. There’s a reason it’s called ‘stooping to their level.” It is because you’re already above them.

This is going to sound like something you’ve heard a million times before, but that is only because you probably have. Report and block their pages. Blocking makes it where that person cannot contact you any longer, nor can they view your page. Even if they are talking about you, you don’t have to have it staring you in the face. You can peacefully live your life while they’re probably still doing what they do best, talking. What is even better is that if you report their profile for abusive content, and the site finds that they have violated community guidelines, their profiles can be taken down and they lose their audience.

Phones work the same way. If you have an iPhone, you can block a phone number from you device. Some other phones require you to log into your service provider account and block the number, but really what is a small hassle like that? Nothing!

If you’re in a situation where these people are in your face and you feel threatened, bite your tongue. One day class will win and bullying will lose and you’ll feel all the better for it. There is always a way out. Leave the situation. If someone physically assaults you, report it. There is absolutely no reason you have to put up with these things and there is no reason the people should get away with these things.

In the end, the only thing these people are seeking is attention. Don’t give it to them. When a creature thrives on something, being deprived of it will weaken them. In the day and age of being ‘savage,’ be the saving grace of class and tact. When you and your bullies graduate, it won’t matter who was the ‘baddest’ in the school and it won’t matter if people talked about you for walking away from a fight you didn't elect to engage in in the first place. What will matter is that you know how to handle a straining situation. Besides, the only people that will be concerned with your bullies abusive, profanity filled tweets are their future employers.

When it comes to mean girls, don't feed the monster. Besides, I have this theory that if you cut off all their hair, they’ll look like British men.