Cyberbullying

Title of Article: Terror on the Web
Author: Sujith Kumar
Publisher: The Strait Times
Date the article was written: 15/08/2008

Bullies terrorizing on the Internet

Gone are the days when school bullies could only confront their victims after school or during lunch break and coerce them into bidding their orders through sheer intimidation. Instead, with the rapid improvements in technology and Internet applications, almost every possible way of doing things are reinvented, and bullying is part of them. This means that school bullies no longer resort to only physical means to intimidate and strike fear in their victims, which may in turn lead to less beatings and fights. But on the other hand, it might also lead to more psychological problems for the problems, although psychological problems has also been a problem resulting from physical bullying.

So, does cyber-bullying imply any less harm to the victims?

In today’s world, I can safely say that most youths spend at least half of their time in cyberspace, some even more than in reality. This phenomenon by itself is one major worry, but I shall focus on just one aspect of the effects of this trend, which is cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying in general refers to the usage of the Internet applications such as forums, multi-player games and social networking websites to direct malice towards their victims. This can mean personal insults in the form of vulgarities or sarcastic remarks, picking on the victims’ game characters, or relational bullying, which tend to occur more amongst girl, and includes backstabbing and gossiping. This, in contrast to conventional bullying, causes no physical damage, as there is hardly contact between the bullies and the victims during the bullying. However, it potentially causes much more psychological harm to the victims as they will suffer from continual harassment during the period of bullying.

Methods of cyber-bullying such as slander and personal insults might result in extreme behavior such as withdrawal, self-mockery and rage, as they tend to cause the victims to take the comments seriously, even to the extent of doubting themselves over the negative comments. This when taken to the extreme will result in severe psychological problems. In contrast, conventional bully will probably result in physical damage such as bruises, but will have fewer tendencies to result in psychological problems other then thoughts of revenge, due to its physical nature. Psychological problems from bullying are mainly solved through counseling and medication, while physical problems are, of course, treated normally as injuries.

On the surface, it may seem that cyber-bullying is no more than a little harmless teasing and fun between friends, but in actual fact, cyber-bullying in extreme cases have consequences probably even worst than physical bullying. The psychological effects of cyber-bullying are much harder to spot than obvious physical effects. Also, the potential effect of withdrawal will cause the treatment to be difficult, as the victims will isolate themselves from the society, rejecting any form of treatment. These will eventually lead to more problems such as mental illness or depression, in very severe cases, if left untreated. Thus, cyber-bullying is definitely not something to be overlooked, as it has potentially dangerous consequences.

I feel that mild cases of cyber-bullying is inevitable anywhere, as it only reflects what schoolmates will do to each other, without really meaning to harm anyone deeply. This does not mean that it is an acceptable form of behavior, but it definitely should not be a cause of major concern. However, just as all form of bullying, things tend to go out of hand. These extreme cases of cyber-bullying are real calls for concern, as they can cause the victims a lot of distress. In these cases, the victims are usually given counseling should they encounter any psychological problems, and the extreme bullies may even be charged by the law and given a fine or a jail term for criminal anonymous abusers. This, in my opinion, is not sufficient to deter the cyber-bullies from terrorizing their victims. The fines and jail term can effectively make potential bullies think twice before terrorizing victims, but that does not cure the problem of the mentality that bullies have in the first place.

In order to prevent the bullies from inhibiting such thoughts of malice towards victims, talks should be held regularly at school regarding cyber-bullying. This will instill more awareness about potential effects of cyber-bullying. Also, counseling should be given immediately when someone is reported of cyber-bullying, no matter to what extent of cyber-bullying, to prevent cases from worsening. Friends and schoolmates should co-operate with the school regarding such matters.