Essay draft 4

Charmaine Pang

Social media has become a widely used platform for communication among youths. The proliferation of social media sites makes it convenient for youths to share personal information and communicate with their peers. It is because of the availability of social media sites that there has been an increase in cyber bullying cases among primary and secondary school students in Singapore. Cyber bullying an important issue because the consequences of this form of bullying is worse than physical bullying. As such, educators, parents and non-profit organisations should help to alleviate the situation by educating youths on the appropriate behaviour 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 s 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). The large number of students that have fallen prey to cyberbullying is a cause for concern because it seems like not enough is being done to minimise the growing issue. 

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). Gwee (2008) gave an example of a primary 3 girl who was repeatedly called ‘ugly’ and ‘irritating’ by her peers, the girl endured it when these comments made their way onto online blogs although she wished she could die. 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, in which 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, 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 them. Therefore, the problem of cyberbullying 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.  

References

Ministry of Education. (2014). 2014 Syllabus Cyber Wellness Secondary.  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. Yahoo.com 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