Lam Thye: Cyber bullying among students getting serious
SIBU: Cyber bullying among students is getting serious, and coupled with stress is weighing down many youngsters, causing suicidal tendency.
Malaysian Mental Health Advisory Council member Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye pointed out that technology advancement and better Internet access have exposed children to cyber harassment, which includes cyber bullying.
Based on CyberSecurity Malaysia’s statistics, there were 300 cyber harassment cases in 2012 while there were 512 in 2013, 550 cases in 2014 , 442 in 2015 and 529 cases in 2016, he noted.
“Cyber bullying among students is becoming more serious with 250 cases reported in 2012 while in 2013 there were 389 cases; 291 cases in 2014; 2015 ( 256 cases) and 338 cases in 2016.
“Although the numbers are low compared with more than five million students nationwide, I would like to stress that the statistics are based on reported cases,” Lee said in a press statement released recently.
He added: “A survey made by DIGI Telecommunications Sdn Bhd and Telenor Group last year revealed that one in four students admitted they had experienced cyber bullying.
“A global study that was published in the ‘ 2016 Norton Cyber Security Insights Report: Family Edition’ also reveals that only 10 per cent of Malaysian parents reported that their children were cyber- bullied although 40 per cent of them believed their children are more likely to be bullied online than on a playground.”
He observed that many victims chose to suffer in silence for various reasons, including fear of being ridiculed or ostracised by friends in or outside school.
While bullying normally involves physical abuse, cyber bullying has a more damaging and long-term psychological effect on the victims, Lee cautioned.
“We must accept the fact that stress and cyber bullying are weighing down many youngsters and create suicidal tendency,” he reiterated.
He said experts have cited anxiety and depression as the main causes of mental health problems among students.
Other contributing factors include family problems, physical and cyber- bullying and stress in their studies due to pressure from parents and teachers, he remarked.
Therefore, parents and teachers must monitor students to ensure that they are not depressed and do not have suicidal tendencies, he advised.
In this regard, Lee said they must know how to identify the signs that a child is being cyber-bullied such as nervousness when receiving messages or email; avoiding a device or using it excessively; refusing to go to school and becoming defensive or secretive about online activities.
The performance of depressed students in school will also deteriorate and in some cases, he or she will suffer from health problems.
“All of us have to act now to address this issue and should not wait until suicide becomes the leading cause of death for our youths,” Lee pointed out.
He further noted that it was very frightening to read about the increase in suicidal tendency among youths as reported by Befrienders Kuala Lumpur.
It was reported that on average, 20 of the 68 people who call the non-profit organisation daily for help have suicidal thoughts and most of them are youths.
“Quoting a research, Befrienders KL also said that suicide is the second leading cause of death for Malaysian youths between 15 and 29 years old.
“In our desire to be a developed and high-income nation, we must not lose sight of the importance of sound mental health development as lack of it could lead to suicide.”
He disclosed that the 2015 National Health Morbidity Survey ( NHMS) revealed that 4.2 million Malaysians aged 16 and above ( 29.2 per cent) were struggling with mental health issues, up from 11.2 per cent in 2006.
It was almost a three-fold increase and mental illness is expected to be the second biggest health problem affecting Malaysians after heart diseases by 2020.
“There is a worrying trend on mental health problems among students, with the figures rising from one in 10 individuals in 2011 to one in five in 2016,” Lee said.