OUR SAY: It's time to stamp out bullying for good

Of course there needs to be space in all of our lives for constructive criticism and feedback.

BULLYING remains one of the biggest problems facing our society.

Of course there needs to be space in all of our lives for constructive criticism and feedback.

But when we resort to cruelly picking on someone because of their appearance, or saying unnecessarily harsh or terrible things, we need to take a good hard look at ourselves.

The pile on of hate that results every time someone on a reality television show annoys us is a good example.

But you need not look that far.

Just about all of us have experienced this toxic behaviour, or treated someone else poorly, during the course of our lives.

We all need to examine how we act and how it impacts on other people.

None of us know what other people are going through.

You may think a few harsh words aren't that bad or are even a bit of a laugh.

You might be dealing with your own set of frustrations and simply lash out at someone.

But you never know how words or actions are going to impact another human being.

Kind words can made people smile, lift them when they are down and make all the difference in the world.

Just as cruel words can do untold harm.

Being kind costs nothing and it can make such a huge difference.

Surely that's what we should all aim for.

Originally published as OUR SAY: It's time to stamp out bullying for good