Cyber bullying is one of the problems which arise due to the use of social media. Cyber bullying refers to the use of electronic media especially the internet to threaten, intimidate and upset some one. It can come from friends in school or even online friends made in social media platform . This cyber bullying behavior has become a problem because it can lead to potentially adverse effects on 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 the study done by Microsoft in 2012, Singapore has the second highest rate of cyber bulling globally among children and youth between the ages of 8 and 17(Nawira Baig, 2014). This study is conducted by asking children about negative experiences they have had online from their point of view such as being called mean names, being teased etc. Similarly, in 2013 a survey had been done by Touch Cyber Wellness 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 networks (Nawira Baig, 2014). The trend in primary school is similar whereby 1 out of 5 students had been taunted on social media platform. There are efforts by the government and private organizations to mitigate the problem of cyber bullying among the children and youths.
The government has implemented the Harassment act in 2014 as an measure in curbing the problem of cyber bullying (Attorney-General’s Chambers, 2104). This new act would give more protection to the ordinary citizens including children who are using the internet in the form of punishments such as fine and custodial sentence depending on the severity of the offender’s action. This law ensures that individual is accountable for crimes committed online through social media platform or websites. However, the measure may not be effective as there is no guide line on ascertaining the identity of the anonymous offender. Thus, the identity of the anonymous can only be trace if educators and profession who work with the youth are given the resources to do so. Furthermore, if the victim does not report the case of cyber bullying, there is no way to enforce this law. The offender may be just left unpunished and continue his wrongdoings. In addition, school bullying in the form of cyber bullying 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.
Besides enforcement of the law, more can be done to empower the youth to speak up against cyber bullying as young people not generally deterred by legal policies. According the research done by Cyber-bullying Research Centre in America, it is shown that informal social controls like peer influence, are found to be more influential in curbing deviant behavior among the youth (Theresa Tan, 2013). Moreover, a research done on about 4500 americans students in 2010 found that those students who felt their parents and schools were not dismissive of cyber-bullying and would punish them for such behavior were less likely to do so (Theresa Tan, 2013). Hence, parents and schools play an important role in deterring cyber bullying behavior through instilling moral values in the young people and teaching them the proper behavior when using social media.
In order to create awareness on cyberbully issue, private organization such as Touch Cyber wellness has been proactively educating children and teenagers on the consequences of using social media in a negative way and inspires them to use the Internet in positive ways(Touch Community Services, 2014). Moreover, other organization such as Media Literacy Council has partnered with Facebook to provide new safety resources for teens, parents and teachers (Media Literacy Council, 2015). These includes important tools which gives them information on what they can do if they experience something upsetting, recommendations to adult 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 among the youths. Nevertheless, 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.Close cooperation between parents and schools is required to help identify children who are victims of cyber bullying so that appropriate steps can be taken.
It is evident that cyber bullying is growing issue in today’s society. Anonymity online can be misused to threaten and victimize the young people who uses the internet often. With the implementation of the Harassment Act, offenders can be punished and it serves as a warning for those who have not been caught. Moreover, education and safety resources provided by non-profit organization can help to reduce the occurrence of cyber bullying cases but it does not completely prevent the occurrence of it. Therefore, close cooperation between parents and school is essential as they play important roles in monitoring the child’s behavior and instilling moral values in them.
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References
Attorney-General’s Chambers. (2015).Protection From Harassment Act 2014. Singapore Statutes Online. Retrieved from http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=DocId%3A%2207275b05-417a-4de5-a316-4c15606a2b8d%22%20Status%3Ainforce%20Depth%3A0;rec=0
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
Theresa Tan. (2103). Tackle cyber-bullying in Singapore before it gets worse. Retrieved from http://yourhealth.asiaone.com/content/tackle-cyber-bullying-singapore-it-gets-worse/page/0/0
1. What do you like the best about the ideas in this essay? Be specific. (precise vocabulary, cohesive/linked ideas, clear/easy to follow discussion, convincing, effective reasoning/argument, well-developed ideas, well-supported topic sentences, understandable transitions, etc.)
ReplyDelete- The use of statistics to support your ideas are well used as it builds credibility to your essay
- It is also well-organized and easy to read
2. Is there a clear, narrowly-focused problem presented in the essay? Is it contextualized in the intro? Is it expressed well in the thesis?
- The problem of cyber-bullying is clearly stated in the introduction
- However, I feel you could choose to focus on either tackling the problem of reducing cyber-bullying, or encouraging victims to speak up.
3. How well is the first solution described? How effectively is that solution evaluated?
- The first solution is clearly explained and supported by a credible source.
- However, as seen from your introduction, you are focusing on cyber-bullying in children. As such, I highly doubt the punishment of ‘fine and custodial sentence’ applies to children. Perhaps more research on the law can be done?
- On the other hand, your evaluation of the solution is well written. You have brought up some important considerations such as the identity of the offender, and the failure of victims to report being cyber-bullied.
4. How well is the second solution described? Is it effectively connected to a positive outcome?
- I am slightly unsure if your 3rd para is your second solution or a follow-up to your 4th para. It seems to me that your 4th para is a third solution regarding the role of private organizations in deterring cyber-bullying. Perhaps a linking sentence can be made to transit from the 3rd to the 4th para?
5. Are there any ideas in the essay that need further development? Which parts of the essay require further elaboration?
- More elaboration can be done on how parents and schools can deter cyber bullying. Perhaps you can further elaborate on the proper behaviour and moral values schools and parents can teach their children
6. Does the writer effectively use outside source material to illustrate the problem and/or the solutions?
- You made good use of outside source material to illustrate and support your point.
- I especially like the use of statistics in the introduction to illustrate the problem
7. What is your impression of the flow of the content?
- The essay is generally well-organized and easy to follow
8. Are there any ideas in the essay that are not clear or that you find confusing? Underscore/ highlight these.
- (see no. 4)
9. Are the citations used in this essay appropriate? Are the reporting verbs effectively used? Does the reference list adhere to the APA guidelines?
- Be careful with your in-text citations. It should only include the author’s surname eg. instead of ‘(Theresa Tan, 2013)’, it should be ‘(Tan, 2013)’
- Additionally, be careful with your citations in the reference list. There are a lot of rules to APA citations :’( such as only mentioning the surname and abbreviating the name (eg Tan, T.), italicizing some parts etc. Perhaps you can refer to the APA reference website provided in symbaloo?
10. Can you give a couple specific suggestions for how the writer could most improve this essay?
- There are a few minor language issues that I feel you should address such as ‘an measure’ (1st sentence of 2nd para), ‘as young people not generally deterred’ (1st sentence 3rd para), ‘According the research’ (2nd sentence 3rd para), ‘4500 americans students’ (3rd para) etc. I think you could have made these careless mistakes due to the short time we have to write up the essay. Perhaps proof-reading may help
- You could also try working on the link between your 3rd and 4th para
- In addition, be careful with your citations