Essay Draft 1 - Countering Cyberbullying in Singapore

With the advancement in technology and the availability of the Internet infrastructure in Singapore, social networking becomes accessible to almost everyone. Social media serves as a platform for virtual networkings. However, it is increasingly used by teenagers to express their discontentment over others. A worrying trend has prevailed, such that more teenagers are involved in cyberbullying. Research has shown that Singapore recorded the second highest cases of cyberbullying among teenagers (CITE). To counter this problem, various measures were implemented by the government. Nevertheless, while corrective measures that have been introduced such as anti-harassment laws and counselling is crucial, preventive measures through education at home and in school remain the most fundamental solution to suppressing cyber-bullying among teenagers in Singapore. 

Various corrective measures by the government to alleviate the problem have been introduced. Corrective measures focuses on rehabilitating the victim and offenders of a cyberbullying incidents. The anti-harassment laws, passed in March 2014 by the parliament, aims at countering cyberbullying. It emphasises the importance of protecting possible victims against harassment by outlining proper cyberspace conducts and punishments for those who breaks the law (CITE). This law allows the authority to exercise jurisdiction against offenders through corrective measures such as fines and jail sentences, depending on the severity of the bully. On top of that, the government also works closely with social support groups to rehabilitate cyberbully offenders. It includes counselling and medical treatments for repeated offenders who are believed to have underlying mental problems. In schools, counselling help are provided for the victims and the offenders who are involved in cyberbullying.

However, such corrective measures only provide short-term solution to the problem. It does not necessarily prevent cyberbullying from reoccurring. This is because research has shown that the reason as to why these teenagers engage in cyberbullying is because they were either victims themselves or have seen someone close to them being bullied through cyberspace (CITE). On top of that, some offenders mention that cyberbullying allows them to project their power and superiority over the victims. They derive pleasure from the sufferings of their victims. To make matter worse, cyberbullying offenders often remain anonymous. All these complicate the effectiveness of corrective measures as discussed above since it ignores the motivational factors that drive these teenagers to engage in cyberbullying.

Preventive measure is therefore crucial to get to the baseline of this problem. This is because it offers a mechanism to prohibit cyberbullying from happening. One of the most fundamental aspect of preventive measure is education. Educating the social media users about the cyberspace ethics and restrictions, particularly the teenagers, allows a friendly and safe cyberspace environment. The government, together with the Singapore Children's society for instance, has introduced bully-free campaigns to educate and nurture teenagers to be ethical cyberspace users (CITE). This campaign also seeks to create awareness of the worrying trend of cyberbullying, and it calls for the involvement of the family and the community to counter cyberbullying. On top of that, the Ministry of Education (MOE) introduced the Cyber Wellness programme in schools, where "students learn to respect others by thinking through what they publish online so that they do not hurt others" (CITE). 

Such efforts, however, requires constant reminders and commitments for it to be effective in the long run. One might even argue that education in school alone is insufficient. It requires education and regulation at home. Parents could play a part by monitoring their children's cyberspace behaviour and also detect if their children is a victim of cyberbullying, so that early help can be provided. On the part of the individuals, they should also be committed to observe proper cyberspace ethics. Individuals should not respond to any cyberthreats and get immediate help if they fall in the victim's trap.

In conclusion, there is no solitary measures that could best counter cyberbullying. Nonetheless, we can argue that preventive measures is more fundamental in dealing with this problem. Preventive measures serve as a first-step in suppressing cyberbullying. Every agent in the society have pivotal role to play. Countering cyberbullying is therefore a joint effort among the state, the community, the family and the individual.