Stopping the cyberbullying menace starts with us

July 25, 2024

KUALA LUMPUR – We need to be civil and respectful when posting comments on social media or face the consequences

CYBERBULLYING, an issue that has been of great concern for years, has resurfaced again in the wake of the tragic death of social media influencer A. Rajeswary, better known as Esha.

The RM100 fine imposed on the cyberbullies, which is barely enough to cover a week’s worth of groceries in most homes, caused a public outcry.

The tragedy not only prompted calls for stricter cyberbullying laws but also greater accountability from social media platforms.

It is unfortunate that it had to take the death of a person for the matter to be taken seriously.

We are finally seeing cyberbullying “trending” everywhere.

But scroll through any social media platform, and you will realise that cyberbullying is an everyday occurrence.

I have the habit of going through the comment sections of viral posts and videos on social media.

It can be very entertaining to see people getting all worked up over a silly post about avocados, a cat video, or just some random stuff that has nothing to do with them.

However, things can take a negative turn fairly quickly.

The name-calling, racial slurs, body shaming, and all the ugliness of social media would then surface.

The fact that social media users could easily be provoked to use hurtful words, which they may not use in person, is terrifying.

Sure, there are those who hide behind fake accounts, but that is not always the case.

There are many social media users who have no issues using their own identity when posting hurtful comments online.

It is easy to think that we are not capable of doing that.

But pause for a minute and think if we have also been involved in such acts.

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