Traditionally, bullies in
school would scout playgrounds for victims to taunt and pick upon by snatching
their lunches, pocket money, physically assaulting and even humiliating them in
front of their classmates. Though bullying in Singapore schools may not be as
common but the advent of the Internet has changed the playing field. With many
youths turning to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, MSN or any other
social-networking platforms online to interact socially; it is inevitable that
they be met with some form of bullying. Bullies no longer scout the school
playground for victims but that of the always-on Internet. The term used for
such bullying is called cyber-bullying, which “involves the use of information
and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile
behavior, by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.” There is
a multitude of ways that people bully others online. They send e-mails or
instant messages containing insults or threats directly to a person or posting
embarrassing video footage and photos online. They may also spread hateful
comments about a person through e-mail, instant messaging or postings on Web
sites and online diaries. Young people steal passwords and send out threatening
e-mails or instant messages using an assumed identity. Technically savvy kids
may build whole Web sites, often with password protection, to target specific
students or teachers. What makes situations worse and more intimidating is that
such demeaning information are likely to remain in the virtual world
perpetually leading individuals to feel even more shame and loss of dignity.
Cyber-bullying "involves
the use
of information and communication
technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual
or group, that is intended to harm others.”
Statistics published by the site CyberBullying.us cites that 33 percent of
youth have been victimized by online bullying. Recent news reported an increase
on cyber-bullying that has led to several suicides. Two of which are that of
Ryan Halligan and Tyler Clementi aged 13 and 18 respectively.
“Ryan Halligan
was taunted for months. Classmates spread rumours via instant messaging that
the 13-year-old boy was gay. A popular female classmate pretended to like him
and chatted with him online, only to copy their exchanges to her friends.
Unable to cope, the teenager from Vermont in the US killed himself.”
In the case of Tyler Clementi, an
accomplished violin player, just 18 years old had jumped off the George
Washington Bridge after his roommate secretly streamed on the Internet a live
recording of him having sex with another man.
These may seem as extreme cases
yet the devastation wrought by cyber-bullying continues to prevail. It is a
misnomer to think that cyber-bullying is something that only happens in Western
cultures. In Singapore there has been an increase in cases too. In an informal
poll conducted by Touch Cyber Wellness & Sports of 255 students from three
secondary schools, almost 35 per cent said they had been cyber-bullied in one
form or another. Most recently, a video of two female students having a tryst
in a school toilet was reportedly circulated on mobile phones. Another instance
involved a Blog page where pictures of a girl was defaced accompanied by rude
and derogative comments (http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/311794/cyber_bully_mocks_classmate_and_defaces_her_picture_on_blog.html).
Guess what started today’s entry about cyber-bullying is the increase in referrals I have been seeing
where clients shared about being bullied online; cases whereby their classmates
have remarked about them being “weird” and would openly “flame” them. In one instance, some even believed that
there was rampant coverage of their activities where they felt that people not only in school campuses but strangers along the
streets or within their neighbourhood were talking about them. Although
some of these instances seem trivial and are done in jest, the detrimental
effects remain, leading individuals to become extremely conscious and may even
withdraw from interactions for they experience great anxiety and distress.
Websites that cover
cyber-bullying:-
The Cyberbullying Research
Center is dedicated to providing up-to-date information about the nature,
extent, causes, and consequences of cyberbullying among adolescents.
Cyberbullying can be defined as "willful and repeated harm inflicted
through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices."