Essay Problem-Solution draft 3

Because of the increased use of social media amongst Singaporean teenagers, there is also an increase in cyber-bullying cases since explicit and detailed information can be retrieved easily by anyone in cyber space. The definition of cyber-bullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating nature. These cases are especially prominent in Singapore, where internet access is readily available island wide. 87% of the total households in Singapore have internet access, not counting wireless hotspots in public spaces (IDA n.d.). The Ministry of Education (MOE) should play a part in educating teenagers through schools regarding the dangers of social media and the importance of cyber-bullying as every teenager and adolescent will have to go through official educational institutions at some point of time in their life.

During the recent years, there has been a large influx of cyber-bullying cases amongst teenagers. As of 2014, a survey was conducted on the state of cyber-bullying in Asia Pacific covering around 12,500 kids aged between 8 to 17 years. 58% of youths in Singapore reported that they had been bullied online, which is the second highest in the world with China ranking first (Mak 2014). Many of these bullying cases take place on online social media such as Facebook, Twitter and ask.fm. Many of the cyber bullies assume that they can get away with cyber-bullying as it is done over the internet. They feel that when they are committing the act of bullying in cyber space, they are not under the jurisdiction of Singapore's law. Since Singapore is a first world country, internet connections are readily accessible by teenagers. That, along with the increasing use of social media platform amongst teenagers over the recent years, has contributed to the high statistics in cyber-bullying for Singapore. Cyber-bullying is a serious matter as it can eventually turn into something physical if left alone. There are negative effects for both the bully and the victim. The bully may become more violent in real life if he is allowed to continue his tyrannic acts while the victim may develop depression and anxiety problems such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In most extreme cases, the victims may even commit suicide (Stopbullying.gov n.d.).

To counteract this problem, the government has passed a the Harassment Act as of 2014 that states that cyber harassment and cyber-bullying is now a chargeable offense and that legal lawful actions can be instituted against the cyber bullies (Shanmugam 2014). Victims of cyber-bullying can now sue for damage compensation and file to the court for personal protection against the cyber bully. This is only effective only to a limited extent as shown by the statistics as of 2014. The number of cyber-bullying cases have not decreased to a favorable range. This is likely due to the victims being threatened by the cyber bully to keep quiet about the matter. Another reason could be that the cyber bullies themselves are ignorant about the consequences that they will face due to the fact that they are still teenagers. Even though legal actions can be taken against them, most of the teenagers will not be intimidated by the law as they are still too young to realize the severity of the consequences that they will face.

At the micro-level, the MOE has been organizing cyber wellness talks island-wide across all primary and secondary schools. Police officers and agents from various cyber protection organizations have been invited to host the talks at various schools. One possible reason why this solution did not lower the statistics on cyber-bullying is that the students who are attending these talks are not taking them seriously. The attendees for the talk are still young and ignorant. Many of them see the talk as a break from school work. The students do not really pay any attention to the speaker; some may even choose to take a short nap while some spend the time talking to their friends.

To increase the effectiveness of the existing solutions, the Internet itself can be used against the bullies. The Ministry of Education should enforce the law on cyber bullying and take a more active approach to sieve out the cyber bullies instead of attempting to deter them from the act of cyber-bullying itself. Volunteers from the cyber wellness organization can take on the names of victims that are being bullied on cyber space. After verifying and catching the cyber bully, his or her details can be handed over to the respective school for actions to be taken against the cyber bully.  Repeated offenders who show no remorse can be called up to the stage in front of the entire school during cyber wellness talks or school assembly to share with the school, why cyber-bullying is not acceptable. This will instil fear onto the cyber bullies and even those who are not caught will think twice before they commit the act of cyber bullying. This solution would solve the problem as the punishment delivered is more psychological than physical. The bullies will be made infamous in the school and most teenagers would likely wish to avoid that. The victim will also not be pressured to keep quiet about the situation as most of the operations is done behind the scenes.

The problem of the students not paying attention during such assemblies can be alleviated by adding elements that will catch the attention of the students during the cyber wellness talks. Famous cyber space celebrities such as "WAH BANANA", Naomi Neo, Jian Hao and Tosh Zhang can be invited to give the talks to the school instead. Most of the teenagers would know, or at least heard of these online celebrities.

The main reason for the existing solutions being least effective is that the main target group are teenagers. The punishment that is delivered to them should be a psychological one rather than physical because teenagers are usually in the rebellious stage of their growth, where physical punishment would only make matters worse. The psychological impact will amplified several more times if they are being reprimanded on stage in front of the whole school rather than receiving a counseling session in private. In conclusion, the MOE should change the method of approach if they truly wish to reduce the cases of cyber bullying in Singapore.

References:

Goh, J. (2013, May 22). Cyberbullying among children in Singapore - What can we do about it? The Asian Parent. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://sg.theasianparent.com/our-expert-talks-about-cyberbullying-among-children-in-singapore/

Mak, W. (2014, January 22). A teen's-eye view of cyber-bullying. AWARE. Retrieved March 3, 2015, from http://www.aware.org.sg/2014/01/a-teens-eye-view-of-cyber-bullying/

Shanmugam, K. (2014, July 8). Cyber bullying in Singapore: Guide to new online laws -Expat Living Singapore. Expat Living. Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://www.expatliving.sg/kids/growing_up/Cyber-bullying-in-Singapore-Guide-to-new-online-laws-53840.ece


Stopbullying.gov (n.d.). Effects of Bullying. Retrieved March 13, 2015, from http://www.stopbullying.gov/at-risk/effects/

IDA (n.d.). Infocomm Usage. Retrieved April 2, 2015 from http://www.ida.gov.sg/Infocomm-Landscape/Facts-and-Figures

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