Why do people make fun of me?

Question

My group of friends likes to pick on me a lot, and they seem to do it directed at me a lot more than at anyone else. I know they’re just playing around, but some of their comments really hurt. They just don’t know when to quit and will go on and on with it. I’m not really the kind of person to make fun of them back, so I stay quiet most of the time. Why do people make fun of me? What can I do to get them to stop picking on me so much?

Answer 1

Just because we’re a little smarter doesn’t mean that we aren’t still animals, and people tend to gang up on someone they think is weaker than the group. If you lack a lot of confidence then it’s easier to target you and might be why people make fun of you. Working on your self-esteem helps this issue in two important ways. First of all, if you’re confident with yourself then you won’t care what they have to say about you anyway. You’ll realize that you don’t have to put up with that and can go find friends that are nicer to you. Second, once people realize that they can’t get a reaction out of you then they’ll get bored and move on from it. There’s nothing wrong with getting help to work on your self-esteem issues, and you’ll be a happier person.

Answer 2

People who make fun of you are just insecure about something themselves, so picking on you makes them feel better about themselves. Some of them might be trying to avoid negative attention so they put it all on you to save themselves. Others might be doing it just because the rest of the group is and they want to fit in and be accepted.

There might not be any real reason why you are the target as you asked “why do people make fun of me”, it’s just convenient. These people aren’t really your friend, not if they’re willing to throw you under the bus so to speak just to make themselves look better. You should have friends that always have your back, not ones who are causing you stress and pain.