Experts in information technology and youth support have called for the sensitisation of Nigerians on the implications of cyberbullying and how to curb it.
The experts made the call in separate interviews in Ibadan on Monday.
A Geographic Information System (GIS) expert, David Afolayan, described cyberbullying as the use of technology to harness, threaten, embarrass or target people. He said this could be by using online threads, texts, tweets, posts and other means of online communication.
“For it to be cyberbullying, there will be an intent, which is to cause pain or hurt people through various behaviours,” he said.
To Afolayan, cyberbullying is like a canker worm that eats from within, adding that there may not be any physical harm but there are consequences.
He noted that both males and females experience cyberbullying in different ways, adding, however, that females were mostly the target of online bullying, unlike their male counterparts who experienced more physical bullying.
“Just like it is for physical bullying, there is always a pattern. Bullying is always a repeated action, with the intent to cause harm and influence people negatively.
“There is the need to understand and spot cyberbullying. For young people, you can notice fear, anxiety, sudden withdrawal or not being one’s usual self,” he said.
Afolayan noted that whilst the above might be true for students, it could also be the same for adults when being bullied.
While stating that cyberbullying could cause sleep deprivation and nightmares for victims, he said that people could respond to bullying in different ways, though its experience could be distressing.
He emphasised the need to know the signs of cyberbullying because they could lead to blackmail and threats later.
“The results are all around us, especially when you start to see an increase in young people harming themselves or doing things that they will not normally do, while others may simply commit suicide.
“So, there is the need for parents, teachers and people generally as well as government to be aware of it to know how to prevent it,” Afolayan said.
According to him, to avoid cyberbullying the ‘golden rule’ is to be nice, both online and in real life.
“This is because anything that is displayed online, the internet does not forget. Whatever you placed online can be used against you and it will be a reference point later,” the expert said.
Afolayan called for sensitisation on bullying, both physical and online, as well as its impacts on others.
He called for open discussion on bullying, especially among young people “because most of them don’t know its negative impacts or that it is a criminal offence.”
The GIS expert stressed the need to reach out to those who had overcome cyberbullying to prevent others from falling victim. He urged parents to build their children’s self-esteem so that no matter what others might say or do to them, it would not matter.
While enjoining parents to be role models to their children, Afolayan urged teachers and school administrators to be aware of what was going on in their schools and sensitise others.
He said there was a new way of communicating with young people to know how to cope, handle and overcome cyberbullying.
“There is the need to know how to deal with it once you understand the signs and implications.
“If the bullying continues, it should be reported to the police because it is a criminal offence in Nigeria, according to Section 24 of the Cyber Crime Act.
“Cyber stalking is when you intentionally send offensive or obscene messages or threaten someone, and it carries a fine of N7 million and imprisonment of between three and five years,” Afolayan said.
Meanwhile, Oluwakemi Olurinola, a consultant in educational technology, urged teenagers to use technology to improve their knowledge and not be distracted by social media.
Olurinola, a lecturer at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun, emphasised the need to use technology for promoting their balanced growth and development.
She enumerated the benefits and opportunities of technology, especially for youths in the 21st century, urging them to use it wisely.
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