Cyberbullying among children and youths is one of the problems which arises due to the use of social media. Cyberbullying refers to the use of electronic media, especially the social media, to threaten, intimidate and upset someone. It can come from friends in school or even online friends made in social media platform. This cyberbullying behavior has become a problem because it can lead to potentially adverse effects in the victims like psychological trauma, and in the worse cases, it has caused victims to commit suicide. Online bullying is especially prominent in Singapore. According to a study done by Microsoft in 2012, Singapore has the second highest rate of cyberbulling globally among children and youth between the ages of 8 and 17 (Baig, 2014). This study was conducted by asking children about negative experiences they had online such as being called mean names, being teased, etc. Similarly, Touch Cyber Wellness has done a survey on 1,900 primary school students and 3,000 secondary school pupils. It revealed that 1 in 3 of the latter population had been bullied online, while 1 in 4 surveyed admitted to having bullied their peers in the online sphere through social media platforms (Baig, 2014). The trend in primary school is similar whereby 1 out of 5 students had been taunted on social media platforms. To curb this problem of cyberbullying among the young people and youths, there are efforts taken by the government and private organizations such as legislation and education on cyberbullying awareness. In order for these measures to be more effective in countering cyberbullying, close cooperation between the parents and education institutions is required.
One existing measure taken by the government is implementing the Harassment act in 2014 (Attorney-General’s Chambers, 2104). This new act will give more protection to the ordinary citizens including children who are using the internet in the form of punishments such as fines and custodial sentence to the cyberbully depending on the severity of the offender’s action. While the act applies equally to children and youth, if a child between ages of 7 to 16 is convicted, he or she will be dealt with under the Children and Young Person Act (Tham & Hoe, 2014). This law ensures that everyone regardless of ages is accountable for the crimes committed online through social media platform or websites. However, the measure may not be effective as there is no guideline on ascertaining the identity of an anonymous offender. Thus, the identity of the anonymous bully can only be traced if educators and professionals who work with the youth are given the resources to do so. Furthermore, if the victim does not report the case of cyberbullying, there is no way to enforce this law. The offender may be left unpunished and continue his wrongdoings. However, school bullying in the form of cyberbullying is a complex problem which cannot be adequately resolved through legislation. As the offenders might be young and immature, they may commit mistakes unknowingly due to poor judgment. Thus, the laws should be more lenient towards children.
In order to create awareness on cyberbully issue, private organizations such as Touch Cyber wellness have been proactively educating children and teenagers on the consequences of using social media in a negative way and teaches them to use the Internet in positive ways(Touch Community Services, 2014). For example, Touch cyber wellness have reached out to more than 320 schools and 900,000 individuals through CRuSH (Cyberspace Risks and where U Seek Help) in promoting awareness in cyberbullying issues. Furthermore, other organizations such as the Media Literacy Council has partnered with Facebook to provide new safety resources for teens, parents and teachers (Media Literacy Council, 2015). These include important tools which give them information on what they can do if they experience something upsetting, recommendations to adults who want to help, as well as guidance to the person accused on why they have upset someone and how they can make it better. Education on cyber awareness seems to be an effective method in bringing across the anti-bully message to the youths. However, there are still cases which can go unnoticed if the victims themselves do not seek help or do not know that they are being victimized. As cyberspace extends beyond the bounds of the school, parents have to be more cautious about their children’s online activities. Thus, close cooperation between parents and schools is required to help identify children who are victims of cyberbullying so that appropriate steps can be taken.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) should encourage schools to establish a form of a bullying prevention coordinating committee. This committee should be in charge of developing school wide rules and sanctions against bullying, and events to raise school and community awareness about bullying. This is because research was done on 4500 Americans students in 2010 which found that those students who felt their parents and schools were not dismissive of cyberbullying and would punish them for such behavior were less likely to be involved in cyberbullying (Tan, 2013). On the other hand, parents should instill moral values in their children like teaching them to be responsible for their own actions. Hence, parents and schools play an important role in deterring cyberbullying behavior through instilling moral values in the young people and teaching them the proper behavior when using social media.
It is evident that cyberbullying is a growing issue in today’s society. Anonymity online can be misused to threaten and victimize the children and teenagers who use the internet often. With the implementation of the Harassment Act of 2014, offenders will be punished, which serves as a warning for those who have not been caught. Moreover, education and safety resources provided by private organizations can help to reduce the occurrence of cyberbullying cases. However, there also has to be close cooperation between parents and schools as they play important roles in monitoring the children behavior and instilling moral values in them. All in all, the preventive measures taken by the government, school and non-profit organization will help in countering cyberbullying in Singapore but they are not able to completely prevent the occurrence of it.
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References
Baig, N. (2014). 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
Tan, T. (2103). Tackle cyber-bullying in Singapore before it gets worse. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://yourhealth.asiaone.com/content/tackle-cyber-bullying-singapore-it-gets-worse/page/0/0
Tham, Y.C., Hoe, P.S. (2014). How far does harassment Bill go? The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/case-you-missed-it/story/how-far-does-harassment-bill-go-20140318
Touch Community Services. (2014). Youth Service Group. Touch Cyber Wellness. Retrieved from http://www.touch.org.sg/touch_cyber_wellness
Media Literacy Council. (2015). Press Release. Facebook and the media literacy council launch new safety resources for teens, parents and teachers in Singapore. Retrieved from http://www.medialiteracycouncil.sg/press-room/press-releases/Pages/BullyingPreventionCentre.aspx#sthash.eMhccH1Y.dpuf
