06/09/2024
CYBERBULLYING AMONG NIGERIAN
|SGS_Reporter|
It is a serious and trend malaise affecting some Nigerians. The unwanted act is mostly practice by more influential and powerful people over the less privileged people to cause them distress, make them feel less important, hopeless and risk to their wellbeing. An individual who engaged in bullying people, have seen bulling as a means of survival. Because when bulling occurs against some people in the society, he/she would like to plead the doer with any possible means to wave the bullying over him/her.
In that case, the doer may likely to charge victim huge of money and even call for the person body most especially when the person is a woman for them to end the bullying.
This discourse can emanate from different angles, like Government, institution, religion and cultures. But mostly happened in academic, music, politics and religion environment. As a student in higher institution, have you ever been humiliated by your fellow students and given you less attention because they feel you not up to their standard? Have you ever been dragged online bullied by your opposition religion or parties for not in the same line with them or appreciate you for who you are and which has cause you serious damages, emotionally, psychologically and physically. If yes, that means you have been bullied.
No doubt, almost ninety five percent of Nigerian are experiencing bulling in school either primary, secondary and or higher institution. Most of people today has lost their mission and dreams due to cyberbullying. For instance, a student or an individual become a members of cultism to take vengeance and avoid being bullying by their fellow human being.
However, there is this sense of mentality on social media, if your comment is not align with the majority on a particular issue, you will be bullying by the bias people. During the saga of Deborah Samuel who was been bullied and killed by her fellow student in the school for allegedly committed blasphemy. And anyone who committed on the issue on social media without being aligned with the majority, were been bullied.
Moreso, cyberbullying is not an inter-nation alone, but international issue. Some Nigerian who engage in fraudster, popularly address as yahoo-yahoo are directly and indirectly practicing cyberbullying. According to an interviewee whose his identity remained anonymous said “cyberbullying is life, because is what bringing them money. This is because if they bill their client money and he/she refused to reciprocate, they will bullying the client so as to send their needs, without considering the damages it might cause the client”. So this means the so called cyberbullying does not reign in Nigeria alone but international.
I can vividly remember a Nigerian musician, Ubi Franklin said on his IG that he has attempted to commit su***de several years due to cyberbullying he has experience on social media.
Cyberbullying has become serious mental issue in Nigeria today in which people has being anonymous on a blog site, social media and email to spew hatred and abuses at people. Celebrities and top politicians and religion cleric get hit the hardest because they have put themselves out before the public.
Even though common people also experience cyberbullying but unlike the aforementioned, there are saga of common people who has committed su***de because of cyberbullying.
This is because social media is a place that make it more possible for people to say anything of their mind. It is an avenue for millions of individual to reach out to their lovely one that could ever think of meeting in the physical life.
In a nutshell, cyberbullying has become tradition among some Nigerian most especially those who lack empathy, had it been they have empathy, they wouldn’t have engaged in it, because if such a thing is a done to them too, they would know and feel the pains cyberbullying injected to human.
In addition the malaise has caused huge sabotage to some people’s life, property, career and title. In an interview with another Nigerian Hip Pop Artiste, Tiwa Savage in 2012 said she would be sad for days from reading a comment about herself on blog/website, and she would go to show and see people cheering her on a stage and said she wondered where those bullies coming from”.
Another example is that of student in Kaduna 2018 who happen to be a brilliant and intelligent among his course mate, the guy was humiliated and bullied by his colleague because of his disability. And the nonchalant act held by his course mate led to his discomfort and depression in which the guy hit his untimely death.
Particularly, the so called cyberbullying has its root to the source in which we can refer to as parents. Parents are the major source and problem of cyberbullying, there are kind of vulgar words used by parents towards their wards, it has bad as cyberbullying itself, but they don’t know to some extent their wards has inherited the same in which they are now using it in exchange of words with each other in the process of cyberbullying hitherto.
And at the same time, not all cyberbullying are truly bullying. This type of bullying usually occurs among prominent people, most especially celebrities cursing and sending negative words to their fellow celeb through their songs, blog, instagram, X etc. but mind you not everything are real. Some are done to make more money, increase the number of their followers, because they believe once they uttered something stupid against their other artistes, it will call attentions of their fans to their pages.
In addition, it will not be enough discussing what cyberbullying is all about without stating its effect and recommendation to regulating it.
It encompasses various effects, which include isolation that can cause one to be living in partial way without being given an avenue to relate with other people in the society like someone who has contacted a corona virus and make the victim feel he’s not human like others. In fact, an individual who has experience bullied might develop the thought of su***de ideation to mention few.
However, Government can play a crucial role in preventing and addressing cyberbullying by implementing the following measures.
Government should establish an Enact Anti-cyberbullying that will specifically criminalize cyberbullying, making it a punishable offense. Also, Government should launch a public awareness campaign to educate citizens, especially children and teenagers about harmful effect of cyberbullying.
Another way in which cyberbullying can be curb is for government to relate at international level by collaborate with another countries to address the global nature of cyberbullying and share best practices.
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