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Cyberbullying in Singapore

We believe that cyberbullying and the impact that it has on victims is gaining more awareness. With that, more individuals (such as the authorities, teachers, schools and parents) are treating cyberbullying more seriously.

Victims of cyberbullying may find themselves thinking, “Is this considered bullying or am I just being sensitive?” It can be tricky to define exactly what is cyberbullying, as the threshold of what actions online qualifies as cyberbullying varies from individual to individual. Some victims may choose not to talk about their experiences with cyberbullies out of fear of being made fun of being overly sensitive towards seemingly harmless posts and comments made by strangers online. Even though victims may be troubled by the posts, rumours or even photos of themselves that are made and circulated by others online, they may choose to keep silent if they do not have a tangible proof for others to concur that they are indeed victims.

Additionally, as flagging out these incidences would also shed light on their own online activities, victims may choose to remain silent. For example, they may end up being questioned as to what they were doing on that particular platform or website where the incident occurred, or they fear that they would get into trouble with their parents and have their devices confiscated.

While this may still be prevalent, it is also encouraging to note that platforms such as Instagram and Facebook have made it easier for individuals to report inappropriate behaviour of others anonymously. By empowering bystanders to take action, this has lowered barriers for others to step forward to collectively report inappropriate behaviours and take down accounts of cyberbullies.

On the other hand, some cyberbullies may feel that there is a veil of anonymity that they can hide behind and mistakenly think that they do not need to take responsibility for the way they conduct themselves online. This creates a sense of disinhibition that can make the attack even more vicious or hurtful than one may expect if it were a face-to-face confrontation.

It is crucial to note that unlike physical bullying which stops when the bully and victim are apart, cyberbullying transcends physical boundaries – it goes beyond the classroom, workplace and impacts the victim’s personal life. Additionally, content posted online can spread like wildfire and it may be nearly impossible to scrub content off the Internet as others can repost the content on other platforms or circulate it amongst their friend groups.