By Sarah Yusoff
Last year, the Kpop industry was shocked by the death of Sulli, a well known south Korean actress as she was found dead on 14 October 2019 after hanging herself on the second floor in her house in Seongnam. On 23 May, a Japanese professional wrestler, Hana Kimaru was found dead at her home.
The two of them have something in common. They were victims of cyberbullying.
What is bullying?
Bullying simply means any action that can cause harm, intimidate or coerce a person who is perceived as vulnerable. Bullying is more than just going physical with the victim as it can also be done verbally.
To start things off, let us look at the different types of bullying.
Types of bullying:
- Physical bullying
- Sexual bullying
- Verbal bullying
- Cyberbullying
- Prejudicial bullying
- Relational aggression.
However, let us shift our focus on one of the most common types of bullying, that is cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that takes place online and is done by a person who abuses the freedom that has been given to them by harassing, sending threats, embarrassing and targeting another person. It can occur at any point of time and any of us can be a victim of cyberbullying.
Unfortunately, this online disease has been a widespread thing among people these days due to the high level of accessibility to the internet and the growing number of smartphones ownership and other electronic gadgets such as tablet and laptops.
As the result, there are an abnormal increase in the number of cyberbullies. An article, ˜Cyberbullying: Dealing with online meanness, cruelty, and threats published by MediaSmarts, stated that 23 per cent of students reported that they have said or done something mean or cruel to another person online, and 27 per cent reported that they have experienced the same thing from someone else.
Some of the examples of cyberbullying includes posting hurtful pictures or images, making online threats and sending hurtful emails or texts.
It might sound less serious in comparison to physical or sexual bullying, nonetheless the aftermath of it could just be hideous. Some of the common effects that victims will have includes depression, isolation, illness and hunger.
However, those who went through severe types of cyberbullying often have suicidal thoughts. A study conducted in 2018 found that young adults under the age of 25 who were victimised by cyberbullying were twice as likely to commit suicide or self-harm in other ways.
Therefore, as an internet user, we should use the social media platform wisely and continue spreading positive vibe. With the pandemic that is currently going on around the world, people are going through all sorts of trials and tribulations. The world could really use more kind people.
Islam emphasises on the need to be kind to others.
œEvery act of goodness is (considered as) saqadah – Sahih Bukhari.
œKindness is a mark of faith and whoever is not kind has no faith- Muslim.
In conjunction with the anti-bullying awareness month, we should educate ourselves more on bullying. To find out more about this, visit rage.com.my . If you are a victim of bullying, then reach out to Befrienders Malaysia by calling them at +60379568144. ***