IT is distressing to read the story of a teenage girl in Sarawak who leapt to her death after she ran an online poll, in which 69 per cent of the respondents had asked her to choose “death”.
The fact that some of her online “friends” had condoned her action is despicable. If they had not been hiding behind their mobilephones, speaking and reaching out to her instead of typing out responses anonymously, I am sure the same 69 per cent of them would not have asked her to die.
As we grow, we learn how to behave and converse with others rationally and with respect. Hence it begs the question why many of us behave irrationally on the Internet.
Racist and rude remarks are widespread on Facebook. But I believe Malaysians are not like that in real life as we are respectful of other cultures and religious beliefs.
Recently, a celebrity businessman had posted a humiliating video of his daughter who was crying in pain after being caned for removing her hijab.
Despite the public backlash over the video, the businessman warned people to “mind their own business”. This video is an emerging trend of parents publicly shaming their children on social media.
Although parents have every right in the way they want to discipline and educate their children, these “advice-for-other-parent-videos” amount to cyberbullying. To make matters worse, such videos become permanent online.
Social media plays a big part in our lives, but we must draw the line between what is right and wrong. Social media is not the source of all of our social ills. However, with better digital literacy, we can improve our social media habits and be more mindful about the consequences of our words online.
Eric Lai
Kuala Lumpur