What is CYBER BULLYING ?

Do you know 70% of the students report seeing frequent cyber bullying? In the matter of fact, any bullying that involves electronic technology is considered as cyber-bullying. For example of cyber bullying such as MEAN text messages or emails, spreading of RUMORS, EMBARASING pictures, videos, websites or fake profiles through email or social networking sites.

WHAT IS THE MEDIUM BEEN USED FOR CYBER BULLYING? 

Phone is the most common medium for cyberbullying as people tends to use phone to go online regularly. Facebook is the most frequent use of social media for cyber bullying.

WHO MIGHT BE CYBER BULLIED?

Cyber bully can happen to anyone, but male are more likely to become the victim of cyber bully than female. People that are hyper-networking (spend more than three hours per day on social media) have a higher chance to become the victim of cyberbullying compared with those that don’t spend as much time on social media.

WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN TO THE VICTIM OF CYBER BULLYING?

Cyber bullying victim will feel alone and scared when they face cyber bullying, thus it will build up the stress level.  The victim of cyber bullying tend to have low self-esteem and they are 2 to 9 times more likely to consider of committing suicide . 

My thought:

Cyber bullying remind me of the movie “Unfriended” which was release in 2014.

A scene in the movie “Unfriended” (photo credit to Unfriended FB page)

It talks about a revenge of a teenage girl named Laura Barns to her “friends” as they were the one that lead to her suicide.

One of her friend posted her shame video anonymously on the internet, and when Laura beg her to delete the video, she ask her to kill herself. Another one posted hateful message with anonymous account, and even the one that she known since they are young is mocking her in the shame video.

The message of the movie is not about getting a revenge when somebody is hurting you, but it actually emphasis on how serious a cyber-bullying can be and people might tend to suicide when it happen to them. 

Cyber bully might be someone that know the victim, someone that the victim called as ‘friend’ and nobody else will get to notice that the victim is been cyber bullied by someone they care of. Thus, cyber bully might happen around us and we are not able to notice it.

Next time when you are going to post something online, think about the consequence, is it related to other? If yes, will it harm them whether dignity or image? If yes, do you really need to post it out? Don’t become the one that cyber bullied others without noticing it. 

Written By:

Ching Xuan Tong

Bachelor of Public Relations (Honours)
Tunku Abdul Rahman University College