The problem isn't lack of bullies. There are plenty of bullies out there making life Hell for their peers. The real problems are twofold; lack of safe, unstructured, minimally supervised time for kids to sort out their own issues and engage in non-digitized creative play (by minimal supervision, I mean that somebody's mom is within hollering distance, and can check in periodically with juice boxes), and that kids no longer have the extended networks of older adults (neighbors, church friends, aunts and uncles) who used to provide kids with a solid sense of self that was based on rewarding virtuous behavior, instead of deriving all of their identity from unstable, mutually exploitative peer or online relationships.

Bowling Alone is a great book on this phenomenon.

Edit to add: Dr. Leonard Sax's books are also great

The problem isn't lack of bullies. There are plenty of bullies out there making life Hell for their peers. The real problems are twofold; lack of safe, unstructured, minimally supervised time for kids to sort out their own issues and engage in non-digitized creative play (by minimal supervision, I mean that somebody's mom is within hollering distance, and can check in periodically with juice boxes), and that kids no longer have the extended networks of older adults (neighbors, church friends, aunts and uncles) who used to provide kids with a solid sense of self that was based on rewarding virtuous behavior, instead of deriving all of their identity from unstable, mutually exploitative peer or online relationships.

Bowling Alone is a great book on this phenomenon.

Edit to add: Dr. Leonard Dad's books are also great

The problem isn't lack of bullies. There are plenty of bullies out there making life Hell for their peers. The real problems are twofold; lack of safe, unstructured, minimally supervised time for kids to sort out their own issues and engage in non-digitized creative play (by minimal supervision, I mean that somebody's mom is within hollering distance, and can check in periodically with juice boxes), and that kids no longer have the extended networks of older adults (neighbors, church friends, aunts and uncles) who used to provide kids with a solid sense of self that was based on rewarding virtuous behavior, instead of deriving all of their identity from unstable, mutually exploitative peer or online relationships.

Bowling Alone is a great book on this phenomenon.