Who are we? The team behind "Be a friendly netizen" campaign.
We are ordinary students whose lives revolve around school, work, and play.
We are FLEX!
We are Media and Communications students in Singapore Polytechnic.
Why did we set up this blog?
We are youthful. We are FLEX, a Fun-Loving and Enthusiastic group of youths who aim to X out cyberbullying!
We want to make a difference in the cyberworld, no matter how small the difference may be.
Because we want to encourage youths to become friendly netizens.
We'll be focusing on 2 areas of cyberbullying - the blog and video streaming sites, which explains the existence of this blog.
And for this campaign, this blog is set up by youths, specially for youths!
Objectives
• To create awareness about the seriousness of cyberbullying
• To spread the information on the ways to respond to cyberbullying, consequences and the causes and effects of cyberbullying.
• To encourage the practice of netiquette.
What is this campaign all about?
This is a campaign tailor-made against cyberbullying, especially in blogs and streaming video websites (click ‘About Cyberbullying’ for more information on where cyberbullying can occur).
It is entitled ‘Be a Friendly Netizen’.
And we define a friendly netizen as someone who:
• Is sensitive towards others’ feelings
• Acts responsibly
• Is conscious of his/her online activities, and
• Avoids hostility.
As technology empowers us, and with ‘great power comes great responsibility’ (quote from our favourite hero: Spiderman), let us pay tribute to hi-tech by playing our part to contribute to a more conducive cyberworld, and this can be achieved by just being a friendly netizen, which is not difficult at all!
How can you support this campaign?
Simple! Just paste the e-badge code below into your blog or any website!
Drop us an
email to notify us when you've included the e-badge into your blog or website!
Are you a victim or bully of cyberbullying? The answer is: it does not matter here.
No matter who you are, what you do or what you have done, everyone is equal in the eyes of FLEX!, for we are citizens of the Internet.
Netizens is what we shall call ourselves.
Just as we remain loyal to our respective countries and respecting individuals’ cultures offline, we should also do the same online – show respect for other netizens’ pride and feelings, show that we can be responsible users of the Internet.
This is everyone’s home on second life. And ‘home’ is what we defined as a place of warmth, harmony, belonging and love.
Let's make the cyberworld a better place. Be a friendly netizen, keep cyberbullying out!
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying occurs when someone puts down victim through the use of info-communication technologies (ICT), thereby causing emotional distress to the victim.
ICT includes mobile phones and the Internet.
Cyberbullying covers a wide spectrum. Actions that constitute cyberbullying ranges from as minute as name-calling and playful teasing to more serious ones like sending threatening messages and uploading offensive videos e.g. physical bullying in schools online. All of which must have caused the victim emotional distress.
Cyberbullying is also a very relative issue. “What may hurt me may not hurt you,” explained it all.
How do you know if you’re cyberbullying someone?
• What you publish (content)
• Who you publish it to
• How you express it
Where can cyberbullying appear?
• Mobile phone - in SMSes
• Internet – Blog comments, social networking sites e.g. Facebook and Friendster, instant messaging (IM) e.g. MSN messenger, in online games, streaming video sites e.g. YouTube.
Effects of cyberbullying
Victims may experience the following:
• Relationship problems
• Loss of self-esteem
• Crying themselves to sleep
• Anxiety
• Loss of sleep or appetite
• Loneliness
• Depression
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Suicide
How to deal with cyberbullying?
Ever gotten upset over a nasty comment someone made about you online?
We understand. We’ve been there, experienced that, and overcame them.
It sure takes guts to stand firm and not be affected by others’ opinions about you especially when you know that what they have published are not true.
Sometimes, you don’t even know who your perpetrators are.
It’s frustrating, isn’t it?
You feel a sense of anguish, don’t you?
Always has the urge to take revenge by bullying them back the same way they did it to you? Forget it!
Being cool and calm is the best way to deal with cyberbullying.
Simply, choose to ignore it. Not responding to it makes you less of an easy target!
If it’s someone whom you thought was a friend but wrote those nasty comments about you online, either talk things out with him/her or find out why he/she did that.
If she intended to hurt you, then its time you make new and positive friends who can help you build up your self-esteem.
Friday, August 1, 2008
QUESTION MARK #2
This week's topic
QUESTION MARK is a column specially set up for the like-minded, strong opinionated and/or critical 'monster' that lives inside each and every one of us. For we believe that nobody is neutral on everything. It’s time to speak your mind.
Every week, a topic for debate and discussion or a question raised by anyone will be addressed in this column. So, join in the fun!
LOOK OUT for QUESTION MARK every Friday!
Got a burning question? Click on 'Post a comment' below this entry, leave a tag on our tagboard or email us at weareflex@hotmail.com P.S: FLEX! reserves the right to remove any post that is deemed offensive or undesirable.
Labels: Question mark
was a friendly netizen at 11:14 PM
To me, bullying altogether is unacceptable. Nobody deserves to be disrespected or discriminated in any form, be it physical or in cyber space.
Between the two, i would think physical bullying bears more serious consequences. For example, irreverisible damage may be done to an individual and may lose the use of a limb. However, more help is available for such cases as well as the effects of physical abuse are tangible and obvious. Hence, others will notice when one is bullied and help will be offered more generously.
On the other hand, the intagible impilcations that may arise from cyber bullying may be just as serious. This form of bullying often upsets the psycological balance of an individual, leading to distress, anxiety and even sucidal thoughts. These symptoms are usually dormant and difficult to detect, as a result individuals who were bullied in cyber space tend to keep to themselves. Consequently, love ones are oblivious to what they are suffering and are unable to comprehend their sudden change in attitude.
To me, I would feel that cyber bullying creates more harm to people as compared to physical bullying. Reason being because it is more difficult to gauge how it is to be under cyber bullying, and to spot a victim who is under cyber bully. They would normally suffer in fear, and cyber bullies tend to get off scot free as compared to normal bullies.
Therefore, I personally feel that victims of cyber bullying is worse than physical bullying.
I've always thought cyberbullying causes more harm to the victims and feel that it's undebatable about that. However, after reading one of your comments, physical bullying seems as damaging too.
I feel that cyberbullying victims needs greater self-esteem than physical bullying victims because one needs to be mentally strong and determined enough to ignore those nasty comments and think positively and be confident about oneself. Otherwise, one mayb just sink in deeper into thinking negatively and fall into the cyberbully's "trap".
I think some of us would know that some bullies on the whole would tend to build their happiness on the other's misery. That is why for victims, it's best to ignore or show the bullies that you're affected so that they won't bother you and move on.
Actually, to compare physical bullying and cyberbullying, in terms of the impact on the victims, physical bullying is definitely more damaging since it leaves the victim with bruises all over the body and affects their psychological balance (as mentioned by Anonymous).
However, one point to note is that cyberbullying is a growing trend especially with easier access to the Internet. Practically anyone/everyone can become a cyberbully as cyberbullying does not require the cyberbully to have a history of bad behaviour. And cyberbullying can happen at any age e.g. a suboardinate flaming his/her supervisor. Yes, this is considered cyberbullying.
Further, the nasty post can be kept online almost forever (permanent!). There is no limit to the humiliation which the victims can face.
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