Government and schools must adopt new ways to address the trend of cyber bullying that has come with the cellphone age, says Gauteng education MEC Barbara Creecy.
Speaking at the colloquium on cyber bullying, held in the province yesterday, the MEC said the issue of bullying is not a new phenomenon in Gauteng schools.
“It includes anti-social behaviours that we deal with on a daily basis in society, which manifest itself in the form of disciplinary problems in our schools. These behaviours include harassment, assault, physical harm, racial abuse, homophobic actions, repeatedly demeaning speech, and efforts to ostracise or belittle another person.
“What is new is the use of cellphone and Internet technology in bullying, a phenomenon known as cyber bullying.”
False anonymity
Creecy said a number of incidences related to both traditional bullying and cyber bullying were reported in the Gauteng province in the 2011/12 financial year.
The MEC highlighted a case that was recently reported in the media, where a teenage girl was named and intimidated via Facebook and BlackBerry's messenger application with a series of threats, name-calling and nasty comments.
Cyber bullying, or bullying through technology, such as social networking sites, instant messages, or text messaging, presents a new challenge for broader bullying prevention considerations, noted the MEC.
“Unlike traditional forms, cyber bullying can occur 24/7 to a wide audience and gives those who engage in the behaviour a false sense of anonymity. Cyber bullying can happen anywhere, at any time.”
Psychological trauma
Global research company Ipsos in January published results of a survey that found 12% of parents online around the world say their child has experienced cyber bullying; 24% of those parents say they know a child in their community who has experienced cyber bullying and of those, 60% say the children experienced the harassing behaviour on social networking sites like Facebook.
“For the victim, the consequences of bullying can be long lasting and severe. Often these are linked to serious psychological trauma, from low self-esteem and depression to the inability to concentrate at school due to the stress of worrying about one's next 'assault'. The most worrying consequence of bullying is the perpetuation of the bullying cycle,” said Creecy.
She added that some learners become withdrawn to the point of committing suicide and of great concern is the high rate of under-reporting of incidents of bullying.
Consequence dissociation
Patrick Burton, director of research at the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention, says cyber bullying is any type of harassment or bullying, including threatening or aggressive comments via text messages; pictures or video clips via mobile phone cameras; phone calls; e-mails; chat rooms; instant messages; Web sites and blogs; social networking sites; or Internet gaming.
He adds that the key differences between bullying and cyber bullying are that the cyber nature allows adaptability and persistence of content; editing; distribution of content; speed; breadth; “disinhibition over computer-mediated communication”; invasiveness; invisibility; and disassociation with consequences.
Burton says schools should develop policies on acceptable and appropriate use of ICT, and should train management on the recognition of symptoms. He also says cyber bullying must be integrated into anti-bullying strategies.
Technology gap
To address the issue of bullying in general, the Gauteng education department has formulated a Schools Safety Strategy that guides schools to develop a comprehensive plan to deal with all forms of safety issues facing the school.
“The department has introduced school patrollers to provide 24-hour security in schools and to assist with learner supervision in and around schools, before and after schools and during breaks. In some schools, we are implementing security cameras, metal detectors at the school's entrance, security guards, and uniforms for the learners,” said the MEC.
World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says part of the problem is the child-teacher technology gap.
Students are more advanced with regards to the usage of general Internet features, searching via Google and using social networking sites. Private school students also make use of Internet at home a lot more than teachers do.
Teacher upskill
For this reason, he says teachers need to be upskilled in four areas. The first is in the use of Internet tools for subject teaching and research.
They must gain skills in the use of social media like blogs for teaching, research and sharing; as well as in social networking. This can be used for communicating with each other and students, and understanding the context of their students.
Lastly, their cellphone knowledge must be increased to understand how students are communicating on campus.
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