Social Media and Cyberbullying (Problem-solution Essay Draft 3)

 The use of social media has entrenched itself deep into people’s daily lives that it has become the cause of many social problems in recent years. According to Chua (2012), Singapore has the second highest level of cyberbullying in Asia, which raises the concerns of many Singaporeans. Bullying can be defined as the use of electronic media to intentionally spread negative connotations about a person (Media Literacy Council, 2013). Currently, there are laws implemented to deter cyberbullying and people are educated since young about the consequences. However, it is the combination of the parent’s support, laws and education altogether that is effective in reducing the level of cyberbullying.  

Cyber bullying can diminish a person’s self-worth and inject negative feelings to a person. The negative remarks posted online usually condemn a person for not conforming to a social norm in order to make one feel out-casted by the society. These can cause the victims to show symptoms of depression, exhibit abnormal behaviors or become suicidal. Since Singapore is ranked second highest in terms of cyberbullying, many users online are at risks of being cyberbullied. Also, statistics from Baig (2014) shows that 1 in 3 students had been cyberbullied before and it seems that younger users are also now becoming a target for cyberbullying.

One way to prevent a crime from happening is through the implementation of laws. In Singapore, a new ‘Protection from Harassment Bill’ (2014) has been passed to help combat cyberbullying. The Bill emphasizes cyberbullying as an offence and there would be penalties such as fines or imprisonment. This method is useful as seen from the conflict between one of Singapore’s bloggers, Xiaxue and the anonymous Facebook group named “SMRT (Ltd) Feedback”. SMRT defamed Xiaxue for bribery, insulted her chastity and her family members online. Eventually, Xiaxue (2015) applied for the bill against SMRT to prevent them from writing negative remarks against her and her family. The bill is effective because it immediately stops the bully from further actions and acts as a deterrence to prevent bullies from targeting more victims.

However, it does not mean that bullies like SMRT cannot prey on others instead. This bill can only work when victims decide to take legal actions. Legal fees can be very daunting for most victims because it is expensive and does not guarantee they would win the case. Therefore, relevant authorities such as TOUCH Cyber Wellness, can work together with the legal firms: whenever they receive a cyberbullying case, they can consult the firms for legal advice at a discounted price for the victims. Then again, it would be hard to get firms to work for a lower price and it depends on the number of victims who would approach the authorities when they are being cyberbullied.

The use of education to teach young students about cyber bullying is one of the methods to reduce cyberbullying in Singapore. The Ministry of Education (MOE) has implemented a series of curriculum that are incorporated into the Citizenship and Character Education (CCE) (Yang, 2014). This method attempts to raise awareness about cyberbullying among students and to prevent the likelihood of them committing cyberbullying. This method is effective as the students are now able to understand the consequences of cyberbullying. It would make them more empathetic towards those who are being bullied and less likely would they become cyberbullies. However, this method is only effective when students treat these lessons seriously. Some students feel that it is a waste of time because it is ungraded like their core subjects, which defeats the purpose of implementing it.

To improve this solution, the MOE can attempt to place greater emphasis on CCE by allowing schools to introduce events surrounding the theme of cyberbullying. The events can be organised in the form of a CCE day consisting of a carnival and a series of cyberbullying talks. Parents would be invited to join the students for the event. Important values and information can be incorporated to the games to attract students and parents to participate. Also, to make the talks more interesting, schools can invite speakers from organisations such as the Singapore’s Children Society. However, this method requires lots of planning and it would be hard for schools to set aside time for other events. Moreover, some parents have difficulties in finding time or have no interest in attending the events.

It is important for schools to encourage parents to participate because they play an important role in preventing cyberbullying. Parents are the ones who spend most of the time with the children; therefore, they are able to teach them about the problems of cyberbullying directly. Thus, these talks would come in handy to equip parents with the information about cyberbullying. In the process, if the parents noticed that their children are being cyberbullied, they are able take the necessary actions.

The problem of cyber bullying is not one that can be completely eradicated even in the long term especially when most of the victims do not voice out their problems. Therefore, it is important to have schools teach the students about the consequences of cyberbullying and parents to identify any weird behaviors in their children in the early stages. When the bullying gets out of control, then legal action can be taken. Overall, combined efforts from all three categories are needed to lower the amount of cyberbullying in Singapore.

References:

Chua, M. (2012, June 25). China, Singapore, top charts for cyberbullying among youths. Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://www.networksasia.net/article/china-singapore-top-charts-cyberbullying-among-youths-1340639968

Yang, C. (2014, September 20). Students in Singapore alerted to cyber bullying in revised cyber wellness curriculum. Retrieved March 1, 2015, from http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/education/story/students-singapore-alerted-cyber-bullying-revised-cyber-wellness-curr

Protection Order Against SMRT Ltd (Feedback). (2015, February 6). Retrieved March 1, 2015, from http://xiaxue.blogspot.sg/2015/02/protection-order-against-smrt-ltd.html

A new Protection from Harassment Bill to be introduced to strengthen the laws against harassment. (2014, July 2). Retrieved March 1, 2015, from https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/news/press-releases/a-new-protection-from-harassment-bill-to-be-introduced-to-streng.html

Cyber Bullying (2013). Retrieved March 1, 2015, from http://www.medialiteracycouncil.sg/online-safety/Pages/cyber-bullying.aspx

Hinduja, S. (2010). Cyber bullying and Self-Esteem. Cyber Bullying Summary. Retrieved March 4, 2015, from http://www.cyberbullying.us/cyberbullying_and_self_esteem_research_fact_sheet.pdf

Baig, N. (2014, August 15). 1 In 3 Students In Singapore Have Been Victims Of Cyberbullying. Retrieved March 30, 2015, from https://sg.news.yahoo.com/1-3-students-singapore-victims-070013753.html