Is “bullying” the best word?

My friend @solete sent me a really interesting post a couple of days ago. It was basically noting that teenagers do not really use the word “bullying” so all of this talk about anti-bullying and bullying-prevention seems completely irrelevant.

I’ve been thinking along similar lines of late. Do adults call it bullying when they are emotionally or physically abused by someone? Is the case of Tyler Clementi really an example of being bullied? In cases like that, it seems like the word “bullying” doesn’t go nearly far enough.

How do you define “bully” or “bullying?” If you use the word, where is the line between “drama,” “picking on”, and “bullying?” Should cyber-safety efforts use something other than “anti-bullying” to gain traction?

Let me know what you think in the comments section, and thank you!