LETTERS: For long-term positive changes, social media users must be educated to ensure that online platforms are not misused.
Malaysians, by and large, are a courteous people.
Go to any pasar tani or pasar malam, and you will be greeted by smiles from vendors of all races and backgrounds.
It is, therefore, shocking when we read comments on social media making disparaging and often even sexually profane remarks towards innocent users.
We were taught from young to treat people with respect and dignity, regardless of their background.
Hence, there is no reason why the same standards of civic education shouldn't apply to the realm of social media usage.
If Malaysians can be civil in person, then all the more reason that we need to be civil when we have the time to think and reflect about what we are going to post into a comments section.
Education on online etiquette must, therefore, become an integral part of the younger generation's upbringing, both in school as well as at home.
The onus, ultimately, lies on us, as custodians of the next generation, to ensure that social media can be made safer and better for all.
Policymakers, civil society and ordinary citizens all have a role to play in creating a safe online space through education.
Nobody should ever have to bear the pain of losing a loved one to cyberbullying.
Education is the best long-term solution to ensure cyberbullying is effectively stopped.
MAGESWARI RAJAGOPAL
Klang, Selangor
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times