Cyberbullying, a worrying trend: A new playground for teenagers

‘To date, no research or surveys have been done to assess the [cyberbullying] situation in Macau’ Education and Youth Affairs Bureau

Kids have been bullying each other for decades. But now there is a new playground as teenagers are now able to make use of technology to expand their reach and the extent of their harm.
This is not a new phenomenon but it is raising some eyebrows in Macau, where no study has been completed to examine the bullying issue in the virtual world.
Cyberbullying is fast becoming a cause for concern and an increasingly significant problem for schools and society. It involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behaviour by an individual or group, which is intended to harm others.
Basically, incidents where adolescents use technology, usually computer, tablets or smartphones, to harass, threaten, humiliate, or otherwise hassle their peers.
Worldwide, bullying is reported as a significant problem in many countries and regions, suggesting that bullying can play an important role in an adolescent’s life.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong last year carried out a study, on behalf of the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society, which discovered that almost one third of the 1,800 students surveyed had been victims of cyberbullying.
Moreover, 17.8 percent of these students had experienced cyberbullying, either in a group of victims or perpetrators.
Another survey undertaken by the City University of Hong Kong showed that 32.1 percent of 1,818 students had practiced cyberbullying, from which 44 percent said they did it only for fun.

‘The new platforms, such as smartphones and tablets, as well as the new social websites, like facebook, have made it easier for cyberbullying to prosper’

Qing Li, one of the few researchers who examined cyberbullying among Chinese, reported a high incidence of this phenomenon (33 percent) among a sample of students aged 11-14 in South China, with the majority of victims (77 percent) having been cyberbullied between one to three times.
“In Macau, neither schools nor associations have done any kind of research or survey. Although there is a lack of information [about cyberbullying cases], we cannot neglect that the problem exists in the territory,” says Chan Kin Hong, head of IT Crimes Division of Macau’s Judiciary Police (PJ), in the PJ’s latest publication.
The fast development of new technology in recent years has increased students access to new technologies. While computers in classrooms can have positive effects on learning, they also bring about problems that deserve better attention “from parents and teachers alike” to prevent the use of electronic communication devices to bully others, says Chan.

‘We hope to have a working team among the different departments that could address the issue and also help victims’

Chan Kin Hong

“The new platforms, such as smartphones and tablets, as well as the new social websites, like facebook, have made it easier for cyberbullying to prosper,” he admits.
However, “the problem is not that serious in Macau,” Chan tells the Macau Daily Times in an interview.
According to PJ’s statistics, there were four cases of cyberbullying in the region last year, mostly related to improper photographic material.
“But this data does not expose the real situation in Macau, where the problem tends to get worse,” the inspector acknowledges.

No local surveys

A major concern to authorities is that many of the students do not understand what constitutes cyberbullying, says Chan. Similarly, the cyberbullies sometimes do not understand that what they are doing is considered to be a form of bullying.
On the other hand, he adds, many adolescents who are cyberbullied are reluctant to tell a teacher or parent, often because they feel ashamed or think that adults will not understand what they are going through.
While cyberbullying is another manifestation of traditional schoolyard bullying, many parents do not have the technical know-how to keep track of what teenagers are up to online.
“Currently the public is still not aware of this [cyberbullying] problem and there must be more channels to inform people so that the community really knows how to deal with this situation,” the PJ inspector says.

Possible psychological harm inflicted by cyberbullying may be reflected in low self-esteem, school failure, anger, anxiety, depression, school avoidance, school violence and, in some extreme cases, suicide

“Teenagers nowadays have easy access to computers, tablets and smartphones and in this virtual world they hide under different identities thinking they can remain anonymous.”
According to the PJ officer, authorities are not able to deal with cyberbullying on their own. “We need to pull together all parts to properly address the problem,” he says.
But before Macau can tackle the problem, a thorough understanding of the issue is necessary, based on scientific data.
“It would be best to conduct research in Macau,” Chan acknowledged. “All sides could plan and work better based on accurate results that would show which is the best way to tackle the problem.”
However, “to date, no research or surveys have been done to assess the [cyberbullying] situation in Macau,” a spokesperson from the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) confirmed to MDTimes, adding “it is difficult to estimate how serious the problem is in Macau”.
Education, experts claim, can help considerably in preventing and dealing with the consequences of cyberbullying.
“The first place to begin an education campaign is with students,” DSEJ agreed, adding that the bureau needs to address ways to effectively inform teenagers, as well as teachers and parents.

‘Parents are advised to attend to their children’s on-line activities and offer appropriate guidance and set proper limits according to their age and development’.

- Doris Shui-Ying Mok

“Awareness is the first step and it is an absolute must,” the spokesperson said. “The DSEJ has been carrying out campaigns in schools to inform students how to make use of the internet in a proper way,” the person added. 
In the meantime, and at least for now, there is no plan to do a survey among local students, but such research “might be done in the future,” said the DSEJ’s spokesperson.

Devastating effects

Cyberbullying can occur at different age levels and it can be devastating for victims. Possible psychological harm inflicted by cyberbullying, just like bullying, may be reflected in low self-esteem, school failure, anger, anxiety, depression, school avoidance, school violence and, in some extreme cases, suicide.
Experts say cyberattacks can wound a child easily and have a lasting effect and several studies have shown that many victims report feeling depressed, sad, angry and frustrated.
“Cyerbullying is widespread and has a unique feature as compared to face-to-face bullying; it can occur at anytime and anywhere in cyberspace and therefore its impact cannot be underestimated,” says Doris Shui-Ying Mok, professor from the Department of Psychology of the University of Macau.
“This phenomenon can have potentially harmful consequences for both the victim as well as the abuser,” she tells MDTimes.
While often similar in terms of form and technique, bullying and cyberbullying have many differences that can make the latter even more devastating, especially because victims often do not know who the bully is, or why they are being targeted.
Moreover, it is often easier to be cruel using technology because cyberbullying can be done from a physically distant location, and the bully doesn’t have to see the immediate response by the target.

Different forms of cyberbullying

Flaming: Sending angry, rude, vulgar messages about a person to an online group or to that person via email or other text messaging.

Online harassment: Repeatedly sending offensive messages via email or text messaging to a person.

Cyberstalking: Online harassment that includes threats of harm or is excessively intimidating.

Denigration: Sending harmful, untrue, or cruel statements about a person to other people or posting such material online.

Masquerade: Pretending to be someone else and sending or posting material that makes that person look bad.

Outing: Sending or posting material about a person that contains sensitive, private, or embarrassing information, including forwarding private messages or images.

Exclusion: Cruelly excluding someone from an online group.

Source: Professor Qing Li’s research based on the Educator’s Guide to Cyberbullying
by Nancy Willard

“In fact, some teenagers simply might not recognise the serious harm they are causing because they are sheltered from the victim’s response.”
With research in Early Childhood Education and Trauma Psychology, professor Mok says education and counselling must be strengthened.
“Parents are advised to attend to their children’s on-line activities and offer appropriate guidance and set proper limits according to their age and development,” she stressed.
Another important point is that schools should play a significant role in combating cyberbullying, yet, restricting Internet usage, emails, or any other technological tools cannot stop bullies from finding ways around the schools’ suspension of privileges.
No longer limited to schoolyards or street corners, modern-day bullying can happen at home as well as at school.
“This would require adults to be updated about the various types of activities they [children] engage in,” says professor Mok.
“Adolescents may need privacy and therefore proper parent-child communication is necessary to draw good boundaries.
“An educator’s role is also essential as they can educate students on internet and email etiquette early on,” the scholar suggests.
“Students can be invited to actively participate in prevention activities on cyberbullying. School policies against cyberbullying are also advisable to foster a positive school climate.”

Working group needed
 
Last year, a campaign calling for the government to enact special laws to criminalise cyberattacks was gathering momentum in Hong Kong, following cases which involved public figures.
While there was no real outcome in the neighbouring region, some countries have laws aimed at curbing massive cyberattacks.
For instance, some states in the US have included cyberbullying in their legislation, while others enacted laws against electronic harassment.
But there is no law in Macau to control abuse of others or compromising privacy on the Internet.
Authorities are restrained from intervening unless clear criminal intent can be demonstrated. That could include criminal intimidation, distribution of obscene material, defamation and other offences that are included in Macau’s criminal code.
But Chan Kin Hong says there is no need for Macau to enact a specific law against cyberbullying, “since most of the serious offences are already punishable by our current laws”.

Signs of distress

- Emotional distress during or after using
  the Internet
- Withdrawal from friends and activities
- Avoidance of school or group gatherings
- Slipping grades and acting out in anger
   at home
- Changes in mood, behaviour, sleep, or appetite

Nevertheless, the PJ inspector says authorities and other relevant departments will keep a close eye on the phenomenon.
“It is important to seriously look into the cyberbullying problem, and to help adolescents face any issue that comes along with this problem,” he says, adding that cyberbullying “has become a social issue that must be tackled by the entire society”.
“We are trying to work with schools and other organisations in Macau to reinforce education on the concept of cyberbullying so that the public – especially teenagers – is aware of the phenomenon and know how to act if they come across such cases.”
Some victims of cyberbullying suffer severe psychological abuses and Chan says there are mechanisms to help these people, through coordinated efforts from different departments, like the Social Welfare Bureau and the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau.
However, he acknowledges, an anti-cyberbullying programme should be a systematic and joint effort rather than a onetime project. Chan calls for the creation of a special working group.
“We hope to have a working team among the different departments that could address the issue and also help victims,” he tells the MDTimes.
“But it is not in place yet. We hope we’ll have such a group one day. However, we need the superiors to decide which steps we should take.”