Dec 15, 2008
Cyber bullies turn vicious More teens falling prey to online intimidation, which is seen to be escalating in intensity
By Tan Weizhen
A 16-YEAR-OLD girl here created fake profiles on popular social networking sites MySpace and Facebook with a single-minded purpose: To befriend those she disliked in school.
Once the connections were made, the teen turned on her schoolmates, hurling nasty insults at them.
The bullying was reminiscent of a now infamous 2006 case where American teenager Megan Meier killed herself after being taunted online. In that case, the mother of a former friend created a phoney online profile to bully the girl.
According to psychologist Vanessa von Auer, the Singaporean girl was discovered by the school before her victims could suffer any deep emotional scars.
Psychologists, counsellors and teachers, however, are worried that the methods of Singaporean cyber bullies have morphed into something more vicious than before.Mostly, the cyber bullies target victims through e-mail messages or forum postings.
Now, experts say, the bullying has turned 'viral'.
The rising popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, YouTube videos as well as multi-media messages has made the humiliation of the victims more widespread and more immediate than ever.
'It just takes one to get it going, and it's like wildfire. Online, users can see what others are doing, even if they're half a continent away,' said Dr CAROL Balhetchet.
Psychologists are worried about the effects of cyber bullying and how the attacks may be escalating in frequency and intensity.
Referring to a case last month where an American teenager committed suicide live via a webcam in front of netizens, some of whom had egged him on, she added: 'The ante has been upped.'
In Singapore, students commonly band together in blogs and social networks to intimidate victims, say teachers and school counsellors.
'Most of them are cases of students who cyber bully others through blogs, naming their victims, then telling the whole school to read their blogs,' said one teacher, who did not want to be named.
One related how a group of boys bullied a girl and uploaded the video online. The girl was traumatised and faced problems getting along with the boys after that, even crying in class.
Aims recommended that an annual fund and agency be set up for the protection of minors. They would, among other things, promote cyber safety.
Cyber bullies turn vicious More teens falling prey to online intimidation, which is seen to be escalating in intensity
By Tan Weizhen
A 16-YEAR-OLD girl here created fake profiles on popular social networking sites MySpace and Facebook with a single-minded purpose: To befriend those she disliked in school.
Once the connections were made, the teen turned on her schoolmates, hurling nasty insults at them.
The bullying was reminiscent of a now infamous 2006 case where American teenager Megan Meier killed herself after being taunted online. In that case, the mother of a former friend created a phoney online profile to bully the girl.
According to psychologist Vanessa von Auer, the Singaporean girl was discovered by the school before her victims could suffer any deep emotional scars.
Psychologists, counsellors and teachers, however, are worried that the methods of Singaporean cyber bullies have morphed into something more vicious than before.Mostly, the cyber bullies target victims through e-mail messages or forum postings.
Now, experts say, the bullying has turned 'viral'.
The rising popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, YouTube videos as well as multi-media messages has made the humiliation of the victims more widespread and more immediate than ever.
'It just takes one to get it going, and it's like wildfire. Online, users can see what others are doing, even if they're half a continent away,' said Dr CAROL Balhetchet.
Psychologists are worried about the effects of cyber bullying and how the attacks may be escalating in frequency and intensity.
Referring to a case last month where an American teenager committed suicide live via a webcam in front of netizens, some of whom had egged him on, she added: 'The ante has been upped.'
In Singapore, students commonly band together in blogs and social networks to intimidate victims, say teachers and school counsellors.
'Most of them are cases of students who cyber bully others through blogs, naming their victims, then telling the whole school to read their blogs,' said one teacher, who did not want to be named.
One related how a group of boys bullied a girl and uploaded the video online. The girl was traumatised and faced problems getting along with the boys after that, even crying in class.
Aims recommended that an annual fund and agency be set up for the protection of minors. They would, among other things, promote cyber safety.
instead of bullying someone you don't like because you don't like their behavior etc., you should either confront that person and clear the airs between the both of you or the best thing to do is you ignore the person. I also think that if you are bullied in any ways, don't keep your emotions to yourself as you'll be really hurt in the end. Instead, tell your parents or teachers what you have been through and i promise you that they'll help you. dont keep it to yourself, share with others & tell your feelings to a trusted adult, parent, friend (:, or councillor! :) life gets better. trustme xD you dont have to feel afriad! REMEMBER, NEVER BOTTLE UP YOUR FEELINGS!
BULLYING! !
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