Ms. Fransisca

Interview with Ms. Fransisca, former counsellor of BINUS SCHOOL Simprug

This interview took place on Thursday, 18 May 2023.

1. Q: Can you share your experience about cyberbullying?

A: "So I don't have any experience of cyberbullying I have experience with verbal bullying."

2. Q: How do you help students who are dealing with cyber bullying?

A: "So, first of all, I need to investigate how and why it happend. For example, I need to check if the account is private or not, if it is private then that means that someone who she or he knew is cyberbullying them. So first thing first is to check whether the account is private because its very important. If it is public account than we can't check if its a stanger or someone they didn't know, mybe its a fake account. Also I need to check how they are feeling, whether they are really upset or they move on quickly. After I found who did that, for example its a student from the same school, then I call the student and ask why did they do that. Then I move on to the conflict resolution so that everyone can understand that this is not good and should not happen anymore."

3. Q: What are the main causes of cyber bullying?

A: "Did you know that in 2022 there is a research that show 46% of teenagers who used internet have experienced cyberbullying, and that was higher compared to 2017 where 41% of adults experienced cyberbullying. That means we are getting higher and the age is getting younger. So there is no exact reason why it happens. However maybe cyberbullying is more appealing because it can be done anonymously, for example you have a second account and in that second account you use a fake name which means people don't know who is the true owner of the account. If there is popular kids or teens, they may bully to stay popular or they bully to make them feel powerful. However for kids who are less popular, they will cyberbully to help them to cope with their low self-esteem, or maybe they think that cyberbullying will help them with their growth. So in general, cyberbullying happens from their own problems. Again it could be anomity or ignorance. However there could be lack of parental supervision and lack of knowledge about appropriate online behavior. "

4. Q: What is the impact of cyberbullying?

A: "This is a big problem nowadays. In Korea there is a lot of cyberbullying cases that can cause suicide. The victims may feel a lot of emotion such as sadness, anger, frustration humiliation, isolated and alone, that leads to anxiety and depression. Some of them will commit suicide because of cyberbullying. It's just the same with verbal or physical bullying."

5. Q: Why does people prefer bullying online rather than offline?

A: "Like I said before, because its anonymous. Also when you are cyberbullying you are not confronting them face to face. You can do it anytime and anywhere. Sometimes, they might think  that they have nothing to do and just scroll through instagram and put comments. If you have heard about it, a lot of teenagers are doing cyberbullying to older people because they didn't know whether their action would lead to bigger problems, or didn't know the consequences or again they don't know about internet safety."

6. Q: At what age is social media appropriate for and why?

A: "You know that all social media apps have a age requirement right? Usually it will be 13 years old because research shows that children who are ages 10-14, they are the one who get hurt the most from cyberbullying because of brain development. So thats why 70% of teenagers have been cyberbullied. So clinical research suggest that introducing social media to children in middle school gives the parents the chance to supervise the account. If the parents wait and give permission until high school, most likely it won't let the parents to be able to supervise the account. So i think soicial media is ok at grade 8 as long as parents or adult supervise the social meds. However the best timing for each child, it depends not just their age but also their maturity."

7. Q: What can we do to prevent cyber bullying?

A: "So, I'll give two categories. One is how to protect yourself, make sure you make the most of privacy settings, investigate what measures you can take to make your content private on the website or social media app. Second, think before you post, never forget that the internet is public, what you put out there can never be erased. If you wouldn't say something in a room full of strangers,don't say things on the internet as well. Even letting someone know sensitive or embarrassing information about you via email, can have unforeseen consequences. Also keep personal information personal, do not reveal your password, address, credit card number. However, to prevent cyberbullying, educate your self and other people on how to prevent cyber bullying. Also speak out, if your friends are cyberbullying someone, call them on it and explain to them how hurtful their actions are. You can also tell teachers or counselors if you know someone who is being cyberbullied or they are the one who is cyberbullying others. So the best way to prevent cyberbullying is to educate young people on how to use the computer and internet responsibility."

8. Q: Is there a good side to cyber bullying?

A: "I don't think there is a good side from cyberbullying, because we just saw a lot of not good effects of cyberbullying. I don't think we can learn anything from cyberbullying except learning our lesson on to not cyberbullying others and prepare ourselves to be able to use the internet wisely."