Please read the following and write a response that is 2-3 paragraphs in length. Each paragraph should be 5-7 sentences in length. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.

This age-old adage has been passed down through the generations. Typically, it’s an offhand response from a parent to a child when someone has said something that hurt the child’s feelings. After all, as long as there’s no physical damage, then everything must be fine, right? Hurtful words are often treated as inconsequential. People assume they can be easily brushed aside and smoothed over with a flimsy apology on the part of the perpetrator.

But the truth is, words can hurt — in more ways than one — and the effects often far outweigh any scrape or bruise.

In today’s world, our stories are no longer limited to simple word-of-mouth tales or even hard-bound books. Words are digital and far-reaching, passed around on websites, on social media, and in text messages. More often than not, the words we publish online are not really for the benefit of others, but for ourselves. Writer Gracy Olmstead says, “in the world of internet and social media, another narrative has begun to reign supreme: namely, the self-narration.”

So, what happens when the words we use become more about self-gratification than genuinely helping or communicating with others? The result can be anything from shameless selfies to cyberbullying, and the effects are tangible.

The Texas Education Code defines bullying as an act that “exploits an imbalance of power and involves written or verbal expression.” This has recently expanded to include digital forms of communication. These include “sending vicious text messages, emails or instant messages,” and “spreading rumors or gossip by posting it to social networking sites.” The sneaky thing about cyberbullying is that because it’s not physical, we underestimate its negative effects. With the anonymity and distance the internet provides, cyberbullies don’t have to face the consequences of their actions, and often feel free to say whatever they want about others.

History has proven that words can be just as potent weapons as — if not more so than — sticks and stones. During World War II, “the Nazi regime employed propaganda to impress upon German civilians and soldiers that the Jews were not only subhuman but also dangerous enemies.” The words of the German government became the defining narrative of an entire group of people. While this false propaganda seems a far cry from the problems facing teenagers today, they all demonstrate the impact of words.

Novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie put it simply when she said that the stories we tell are often about power. “Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person,” Adichie said. Perhaps the answer is not to fight to be heard, but rather to learn to listen. When we are empowered to tell our own stories or share our own points of view, our words can have positive, transformative effects. They can help people understand other experiences and see the world differently.

Now that you’ve read about the effects words can have, what do you think? Has anyone ever said something about you that was hurtful or untrue? What did you do about it? How have you used words to solve a problem, bring people together, or share your own story? Why do words matter?