Issues of Social Media (fueled by Mobile Apps) Part 2

Social media creates new issues for Malaysians. One of which is online harrassment. According to this article, The level of online harassment is reportedly high at above 70%, especially for children calling other children mean names, posting improper messages and inappropriate photos. As many as 26% of all schoolchildren reported that they had been bullied online, with children aged 13 to 15 being bullied the most. The survey done (as seen in the article) shows that children are extremely exposed to cyberbullying and they take little protection against such an issue. This is extremely disturbing as Foong Cheng Leong, an advocate and solicitor mentions some cases of online harassment in his blog. 

Also, social media may create a new problem for Malaysians. This issue may be explained to our readers through a video by John Oliver, an English comedian who is the host of Last Week Tonight, a satirical weekly news report. 

He first discusses about women being harassed online and proceed to a huge issue of 'revenge porn'. Revenge porn is sexually explicit media that is distributed without the consent of the individual(s) involved. This typically happens when a partner who is bitter about the break up of a relationship posts naked pictures sent by the other partner during their relationship to porn websites without the knowledge and consent of the other partner, causing humiliation and may even ruin the lives of the victim (lose their jobs, their families or turn to suicide). 

Our group agree that this is not an issue of Malaysian society yet, or at least it is not an overblown controversial problem that Malaysians face due to the more conservative culture of Malaysians but it is not an exception to this problem. It may be an issue of the future or it may be an issue we face now. We agree that there must exist criminal rules in the country to protect individuals from such a crime. Also, we propose that tighter regulations should exist for cyberbullying to prevent harassment or stalking, since it is a general consensus among us that all citizens and netizens should feel secure in their own country and in their own home.

Photo credits:

http://kalw.org/post/your-call-who-responsible-preventing-online-harassment

http://tribune.com.pk/story/51428/poverty-drives-man-to-murder-suicide/

Author: Florence Chong (B1402193)