Cyberbullying is now a constant menace for many secondary students in Hong Kong revealed a recent survey.
The Agent of Change Foundation said the survey, launched online and in school surveys, showed that the bullying situation in schools are serious, with a third of respondents saying they had been bullied in the last six months.
The survey also found that although students used to be able to escape bullying after school, cyberbullying is almost inescapable for these digital natives. This can inflict serious psychological damage on victims.
A breakdown of the bullies found that 35% were identified as classmates, 20.7% were friends, 12.2% were online netizens, 8.8%, teachers and 8.7%, parents.
Five percent of the students said that they had met three or more bullies in their lives, with some encountering up to seven.
The respondents believe that bullies enjoy belittling others so they can show their power and release their anger.
According to the survey, about 40% of victims of bullying preferred to handle a situation themselves while nearly 30% would seek help from friends. It was also revealed that 25% of students interviewed had been victims of cyberbullying.
Among those who have been bullied online, some said it stemmed from conflicts on online forums (26.7%), were subjected to verbal abuse (25.8%) and had rumours spread about them (23.2%). About one in five had simply been boycotted.
Nearly half of the 604 students were also seen to lack a sense of security, saying that counselling services offered at schools and in society generally should be improved.
One in four attributed feelings of unease to studying, further education and school pressure. Feelings of being despised, excluded and being seen as worthless were other major problems.
A clinical psychologist in Hong Kong, Quratulain Zaidi, told South China Morning Post earlier this year that cyberbullying is a worrying growing phenomenon in today’s world.
“Mean messages can be distributed anonymously and quickly, leading to 24/7 cyberbullying,” she said.
Zaidi suggested that close communication with children is key to curbing cyberbullying.
“If the cyberbullying escalates to include threats and sexually explicit messages, also contact agencies that help.”
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