Charmaine
Pang
Social
media has become a widely used platform for communication among youths. The
proliferation of social media sites makes it more convenient for youths to
share personal information and communicate with their peers. The exposure to
social media sites have resulted in an increase in cyber bullying cases among primary
and secondary school students in Singapore. As such, educators, parents and
non-profit organisations should step up to help alleviate the situation by
educating youths on the appropriate behavior on social media.
The
ease of access to technology may be a reason for the prevalence of cyber
bullying among teens, the almost immediate access to social media through their
smartphones and computers make cyber bullying more attractive to them. Despite
being a small country, Singapore has the second-highest rate of cyber bullying
among children and youth between the age of 8 and 17 in Asia. (Family and Life,
2014) ‘Based on a survey of 3,000 secondary school students and 1,900 primary
school students, one in five primary school children and one in three secondary
school children reportedly said that that they have been victims of cyber
bullying, and one in four secondary school students admitted to cyber bullying
their peers.’ (Tai, 2014)
Cyber
bullying is also made more prevalent because cyber bullies feel bolder and more
powerful with the cloak of anonymity that the Internet provides. (Baig, 2014)
Due to the anonymity and accessibility of technology, cyber bullying can be more
persistent and relentless, even in the safety of one's home. (Yang, 2014) In
Gwee’s (2008) article, she cites the example of a primary 3 girl who was
repeatedly called ‘ugly’ and ‘irritating’ by her peers, these comments made
their way onto online blogs. The girl endured this and wished she could die.
Therefore, with social networking sites, taunting can go viral, and the
humiliation of victims can be immediate. This is a cause for concern because
there is a wider potential audience and the consequences on the victim can be
more intense than face-to-face bullying. (Tai, 2014) Therefore, in her article,
Phneah (2013) advocates that freedom of speech should not come at the expense
of harming others and their right to safety and dignity.
The
first solution to alleviate the rise of cyber bullying cases comes from the Ministry
of Education (MOE). MOE has been encouraging schools to incorporate cyber
wellness lessons into the curriculum. (Yang, 2014) In 2014, MOE set aside
curriculum time for topics such as Internet etiquette. The cyber wellness
module comes under the Citizenship and Character Education framework, where students
are taught ways to protect themselves and to be responsible for their
cyber well-being in cyberspace. (MOE, 2014) This is a step in the right
direction, as students spend a large amount of time in school and it is
where they learn most of their moral values. Through education, students are
made aware of the consequences of cyber bullying and thus take responsibility
for their online behaviour and stand up for the victims to prevent further acts
of cyber bullying. The only limitation in this solution is that students
may not take such lessons seriously and may feel that they have ample knowledge
on cyber safety.
The
other solution would be to involve non-profit social organisations. One such
organisation would be Touch Cyber wellness that started the programme, ‘Crush.’
(n.d.) 'Crush' cleverly uses social
media as a tool to engage students and educate them about Internet safety,
through the creation of an application for phones. In this application,
students can watch videos on Internet etiquette and safety. In his article, Chow
(2012) states that this initiative involves parents through workshops that teach
parents how to use social media safely and alert them on the dangers of the
Internet. This approach is highly successful, it has reached out to almost 300
teenagers since it started. (Chow, 2012) What makes this a highly
successful solution is the inclusion of parents, by educating parents on
Internet safety, this makes them more aware of their teenager's behaviour on
the Internet, thus, they are able to tell if their child is being bullied
online or taking part in cyber bullying behaviour. Furthermore, the innovative
way of using social media to educate youths makes their materials more
relatable and thus, more well received by youths.
Another
avenue that may make this even more successful would be the expansion of
'PlanetCrush' cyber wellness centres from two schools to more. In her article, Tai
(2012) reports that the cyber wellness centre not only promotes responsible
computer usage through cyber wellness programmes but it also offers advice to
parents on their child’s Internet habits. However, in his article, Chow (2012)
states that there are only two of such cyber wellness centres in 2012. If the
number of cyber wellness centres increases, social organisation can reach out
to a larger crowd, and tackle the problem at a faster rate. With schools,
parents and social organisations working hand in hand, it would be easier to
alleviate the problem of cyber bullying among teens.
In
conclusion, social media has helped to bring the world together through its
inter-connectedness, yet it has resulted in a host of problems because youths
today misuse it. Therefore, it can only be solved with the help parents,
educators and the relevant organizations to guide youths and make social media
platforms free from cyber bullies.
(872
words)
Reference
2014 Syllabus Cyber Wellness Secondary. (2014, January 1).
Retrieved from
http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/syllabuses/character-citizenship-education/files/2014-cyber-wellness.pdf
Baig,
N. (2014, August 15). 1 In 3 Students In Singapore Have Been Victims Of
Cyberbullying. Retrieved from
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/1-3-students-singapore-victims-070013753.html
Chow, J. (2012, July 30). Parents join kids to learn how to
stay safe online. The Straits Times,
p. B5.
Gwee,
S. (2008, March 11). Caught in web of menace. The Straits Times.
Phneah,
J. (2013, November 23). Holistic measures necessary in fight against cyberbullying.
Today. Retrieved from
http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-newspaper/search?utf8=✓&q=http://www.todayonline.com/voices/holistic-measures-necessary-fight-against-cyberbullying&commit=Search
Newspapers
Singapore
is the Second Highest Nation of Cyberbullies. (2014, March 1). Retrieved from
http://familyandlife.sg/Nurture/2014/03/Singapore_Second_Highest_Nation_Cyberbullies
Tai, J. (2012, January 21). Cyber wellness centre to open in
Hougang sec. The Straits Times. Retrieved from
http://www.touch.org.sg/files/newsarticles/news_articles_tcs_st_2012_1_21.jpg
Tai,
J. (2014, July 14). 1 in 4 Singaporean high school students admit to cyber
bullying. Retrieved from http://www.asianewsnet.net/1-in-4-Singaporean-high-school-students-admit-to-c-62319.html
TOUCH Cyber Wellness. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.touch.org.sg/touch_cyber_wellness
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