Any word can be over used and I think bullying is too wide a brush...some say bullying to mean teasing (some teasing is good natured of course, but then there is targeted, relentless teasing), cyber bullying, racial bullying, physical bullying, and relational aggression.
When it becomes physical then it is assault. Too many people call it bullying because it doesn't sound as bad as it is. Black eyes, stabs, bites, broken bones and so on is not bullying. It's physical assault and that's a crime.
Girls tend to use relationships to hurt other girls so in this instance, relational aggression would be the better term than bullying.
But there are some who are tired of hearing about bullying because once we know about something we have to<I> do</I> something about it! Some don't want to be bothered; some have no idea <I>what </I>to do.
I remembered when child abuse was first being talked about openly, before too long people were saying that they were sick of hearing about child abuse. Then when domestic abuse was being talked about openly, there were some who were tired of hearing about that, too.
So yes, the word bullying is over used in many instances but I suppose it's better than not talking <I>and doing</I> something about it.
