OUTRAGE AND ECHO CHAMBERS
Bullying makes for a good case study on how the digital world grips our emotions with fragments: a clip, a soundbite, a moment stripped of context. We rush to judgment. Outrage festers, echo chambers form, and soon it becomes us versus them.
The Sengkang Green Primary School case came to light because the mother of the affected student took to Facebook to share her experience of protecting her child who was bullied.
Online discussions about the case led to the doxxing of educators and young children. The Ministry of Education (MOE) then made public the facts of the case. Investigations revealed that the affected student had also engaged in “hurtful behaviours” towards others.
On Thursday (Aug 27), MOE said it will enhance school’s disciplinary frameworks and make reporting channels more accessible, as part of an ongoing review to better tackle bullying in schools.
As a parent, I can see why we would want to take matters into our own hands and court public support on social media, especially when there’s evidence to prove that our family is in danger. Bullying in any form, cannot be condoned, especially when one in four upper primary school students have suffered from it.
Children who are bullied are more likely to experience depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood.
Empathy doesn’t excuse harmful behaviour, but it enables us to respond wisely, not react thoughtlessly. It asks us to slow down, to see beyond the surface and understand multiple perspectives and to recognise the person behind the words, no matter how flawed. That takes time – but time is something that the digital world rarely allows.
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