Lately, cyber-bullying cases have been on the rise. Being anonymous on the Internet means one can have the 'privilege' of voicing out whatever he wants without being condemned. This anonymity acts as a barrier to protect oneself and one's identity. Cyber-bullies take advantage of this and harass or verbally-attack other Internet users online. The possibilities of cyber-bullying cases are rather wide - it could be an act of impulse, out of pure fun, or to get back at the other party.
Cyber victimization has been shown to produce poor school grades, negative emotional impacts, depression, poor self-esteems and even suicides. Through different medias such as chat rooms and forums, cyber-bullies can get accessed to these victims whenever they want to.
According to a youth research team, 33% of youths have been cyber-bullied online. Many of them reveal that they feel "frustrated, angry and sad" and rarely confide in others in fear of embarrassment. And the aftermath? Suicide happens when these victims can no longer withstand the depression and emotional turmoil that they have. More measures should be taken to prevent the rise of cyber-bullying cases.
For example, in the latest cyber-bullying-suicide case, Megan Meier's suicide has been attributed to cyber-bullying through an account on the social networking website MySpace. The account, purportedly belonging to a 16-year-old male named "Josh Evans," was created and monitored by the mother of a friend of Meier,Lori Janine Drew. However, no charges will be filed against Drew because she did not cross a threshold into criminal activity based on state laws that govern harassment and child endangerment.
And hence, thanks to his non-punishment sentence, this opens the door to allow and to continue cyber-bullying in cyberspace.
Even so, it is unlikely that victims will stop going online after or even during the period of bullying because the Internet is an important medium of communication. Let's not put all the blame on the cyber-bullies: First of all, Internet-users must watch their language and think twice before posting anything online. One shall invite trouble if something inappropriate offends the other users. Next, parents should be aware of cyber-bullying and while giving privacy to their children, parents should keep track of what they're doing online and note if there's any behavioural changes. Schools should also conduct educational lessons on how to deal with cyber-bullying. Lastly, depending on the severity, laws on cyber-bullying should be made.
Let's make the Internet clean because we'll die without it.
Wee Jing Zhi speaks.
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