Blair and Serena from “Gossip Girl”; Tony and Sid from “Skins”; Alison and every other character on “Pretty Little Liars”; toxic friendships like these get twisted into “friendship goals,” but how did pettiness and lying become qualities of a good friendship?

Growing up around these kinds of television shows have taught poor lessons about friendship to our generation.

We see the concept of “bullies” all around us in movies, television and even in real life, but not everyone acts the same as the stereotype. Sometimes underhanded comments can hurt worse than any punch.

Verbal bullying is everywhere.

Girls think it’s acceptable to talk about their friends behind their backs and boys can be just as bad as the girls. These behaviors can start in children at a young age and continue through their adult life.

Friendships surrounded with negativity seem to be the most prevalent in high school. Sometimes being friends with one person for so long can shadow the fact that it is hurting your own self-image.

High school should be a time of self-discovery, but how can you discover yourself when a friend is knocking you down?

Gossip has been around centuries before “Gossip Girl,” but that doesn’t make it okay. A friendship based on lying and backstabbing shouldn’t even be considered a friendship at all, but yet, they still exist.

Friendships like these will likely never go away.

Some people will always be mean, but we have the power to improve our relationships with other students by watching what we say about other people.

If you are having a problem with your friend, talk to them directly. Avoiding them by discussing the issue with other people will only create more drama than what is necessary.

Anything we do can affect someone else, so try to spread positivity. And remember, Blair and Serena are not #bffgoals.