On the 12th of December, 2014, a campaign was launched by the Malta Information Technology Agency, 89.7 Bay and General Soft Drinks in order to combat the rise of cyberbullying in Malta. The #StopHate social media campaign and website focuses on encouraging victims of cyberbullying to speak up and seek help. Air Malta produced a “viral” video in support of the campaign which has amassed 3,033 views on YouTube and can be found here below.
The campaign was initiated with the goal of creating a safe haven for victims of cyberbullying, and raising awareness about the undeniable effects of cyberbullying — which is of utmost importance in our day and age since the average age of internet users is dropping year by year . However, the campaign seems to have missed out on a couple of important points that I’d like to discuss. Before that though, I’d like to point out that I am in no way condoning cyberbullying or any type of bullying for that matter.
The most glaring aspect the campaign seems to have missed is the fact that they have not considered the fact that bullies are created by other bullies. Meaning that these cyberbullies have most likely experienced physical or mental bullying or abuse from other parts of their lives — perhaps from their siblings, parents, or friends, causing them to have an extremely low self-worth. This can happen even if the abuse is relatively minor — for example: over-criticism from parents, or an unhealthy sibling rivalry. They then vent their frustrations upon other, weaker children at school in the easiest way possible: anonymously over the internet, in order to make themselves feel a little better, and exert dominance over someone else, just like they have been dominated by others.
In psychology, this transference of anger or frustration from one person to another is called displacement and is a natural defense mechanism that attempts to alleviate tension and frustration. We have all experienced it to some degree. If I am a teenager who is physically or mentally abused in some form or another and have a basic knowledge of how the internet works, it can be extremely easy for me to displace my anger and sadness to another teenager anonymously through the internet — especially if my parents either do not know how to monitor my internet usage or, unfortunately, do not care.
My point is that any anti-bullying campaigns should make a more concerted effort to provide support to the bullies themselves, rather than villainize them through social media campaigns, calling them “cowards” . Through messages such as the Tagline playlist of videos made for the campaign, which can be found on YouTube here, the campaign invites bullies to bottle up their frustrations and bottle up their increasing anger. I understand that bullying others is not the healthiest way to vent, however the root of the problem is not being addressed by simply telling them to stop. An anti-bullying campaign should also focus on the bullies, giving them an opportunity to freely seek help and advice without having to worry about being judged and ridiculed for their mistakes.
An even better solution would be to prevent children from growing up into bullies altogether by making sure that they are taught to embrace each other’s differences from a very young age, not only at school, but at home too. Therefore it is supremely important to make sure that all parents are made aware of the effects of low self-esteem in children and the effect it can have on both their own kids, and those around them. Parents of young children these days are more likely to be internet savvy than their counterparts from the previous generation and should know how powerful and dangerous the internet can be if not used productively. Even though this might impinge on the privacy of their children, close monitoring of internet activity is essential to their wellbeing.
Stopping cyberbullying altogether is wishful thinking, however I honestly believe that focusing the blame solely on bullies is not the answer. It is uplifting to know that victims of bullying can seek help so easily and that the issue is being given the attention it needs, however the #StopHate campaign may not simply be stopping the hate, rather it might just be diverting some of it from the victims to the bullies, compounding the issue.