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 availability
of social media sites has 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, because the almost immediate access to social media
through their smartphones and computers makes 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, as these comments made
their way onto online blogs, the girl endured this and wished she could die.
Therefore, this example highlights that, 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)
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 they are more likely
to 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.’
'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 through workshops, this
initiative teaches parents how to use social media safely and alert them on the
dangers of the Internet. This approach is highly successful as 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. Educating parents
on Internet safety makes them more aware of their teenager's behaviour on the
Internet so that they will be able to tell if their child is being bullied
online or taking part in cyber bullying behaviour. This 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, according to Chow (2012), in
2012, there are only two of such cyber wellness centres. 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 have helped to bring the world as people are more
connected through social media. However, social media have also resulted in a
host of problems because youths today misuse it. Therefore, this problem can
only be solved with the help of parents, educators and the relevant organizations
to guide youths and make social media platforms free from cyber bullies.
(875
words)
References
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
Yang,
C. (2014, September 20). Students in Singapore alerted to cyber bullying in
revised cyber wellness curriculum. The
Straits Times. Retrieved from
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/education/story/students-singapore-alerted-cyber-bullying-revised-cyber-wellness-curr
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