LETTERS: It's hard to keep track of every post on social media.
But we should be aware of the dangers lurking below the surface of seemingly harmless posts and a form of bullying that is rampant.
My children are in their 30s and I don't need to supervise their Internet sites, but I am learning from my students now.
I've been introduced to words such as flaming, exclusion and outing, and I'm familiar with harassment and cyberstalking issues.
These are issues that need to be identified and addressed in schools and institutions.
Where classes have been disrupted by the pandemic, online bullying has replaced physical bullying in schools and institutions.
We need to know what the various forms of cyberbullying are before being able to identify when it occurs.
Cyberbullying is the inappropriate use of strength, influence or behaviour either directly or indirectly to intimidate, torment, harass, threaten or embarrass others using technology, the Internet or through the use of mobile phones.
Cyberbullying includes exclusion, which is the deliberate action of leaving you out.
Harassment involves bullies sending out offensive messages.
Cyberstalking is a form of harassment that is more continuous and involves the sending of threatening and rude messages.
Another is fraping. Here, someone logs into your social media account to impersonate you.
Catfishing is similar to fraping, where someone steals your identity and recreates social networking profiles for deceptive purposes.
Outing happens when someone acts to embarrass or publicly humiliate you.
Dissing is the act of sending or posting cruel information about you online to damage your reputation or friendship with others.
Trolling is when someone provokes a response through offensive language and insults.
Cyberbullying allows for permanence as posts can be saved and viewed repeatedly.
Besides being able to reach a large audience at remarkable speed, victims may know their cyberbully through the social network, adding to the embarrassment and humiliation.
As friends, people joke about one another, but how can you tell if that joke has gone too far? Usually, it means that the others are not laughing with you but at you, and you feel hurt.
Cyberbullying affects victims mentally, emotionally and physically.
Studies have shown that children who are cyberbullied suffer from feelings of hurt, anxiety, fear, shame, sadness, frustration and low self-esteem.
These negative emotions must be addressed as it may lead to further adverse behaviours. People who are bullied online are likely to be bullied in person as well.
To stop cyberbullying, one needs to be able to identify it and report it. To identify it, one needs to know what it is. Anyone can be a victim.
If you notice a friend or a family member being cyberbullied, talk to them.
Cyberbullying is not very addressed as sometimes it is too subtle to be recognised. Notwithstanding, it will still affect victims.
Therefore, one should always think twice before posting anything, as once it is out there, it is always online and can be used against you. Never give out personal information.
To those on social media, it is nice to exchange what you do with your friends, but always be wary of people who never post and are only there to read your posts.
They may be cyberstalking without being aware of what they are doing.
Dr Saraswathi Bina Rai
Associate professor, Faculty of Medicine, AIMST University
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times