A click of a button is all it takes to change a young adult’s life drastically.
In her thesis exploring young adult survivors’ experiences of bullying, Suhana Jacobs made a “surprising” discovery — violence in school is spilling onto social media in the form of “extended bullying”.
“In the instant that the video clip or image is uploaded to social media, it takes on an entirely new life. The lives of young people are substantially entwined with digital media technology, with access to such media and devices growing rapidly. This rise in connectivity and access to social media platforms has raised critical issues relating to safety, privacy and abuse.
“For a long time, school violence was primarily located in the physical realm. However, technology has blurred the boundaries of physical space with the introduction of cyber space. One of the areas requiring urgent scholarship and intervention within the broader context of school violence, is the filming of incidents of physical bullying and posting such recordings on social media,” she said.
Jacobs, who obtained her PhD from the University of KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday, was motivated to research the topic after videos depicting violence and harassment among school pupils have been steadily on the increase.
“The explosion of disturbing videos posted on social media of assaults and harassment among school pupils provoked my academic interest in the phenomenon of school violence, and its somewhat unexplored relationship with the virtual schoolyard within the context of cyberbullying.”
“This mirror of what is happening with young people gives us a disturbing view of society, prompting the need for greater insights into why young people create, circulate and forward embarrassing content of their peers — content that deliberately harasses, humiliates and injures,” said Jacobs.
Study of the psychosocial impacts of bullying revealed disturbing insights. Relaying their experiences, survivors shared how the impact of the bullying practices worsens their suffering and causes lasting, damaging impact.
— Suhana Jacobs
Jacobs noted that once an incident of bullying captured on video is uploaded and shared digitally, it can expand its reach exponentially.
“Anyone connected to the digital environment can share the content to multiple online locations and audiences. These audiences are then active or passive participants, simply by consuming content. As the views increase — itself an impetus for further audience interest and increased rankings on social media — the content thereby continues being shared and shaped by participants.
“Study of the psychosocial impacts of bullying revealed disturbing insights. Relaying their experiences, survivors shared how the impact of the bullying practices worsens their suffering and causes lasting, damaging impact. Psychosocial impacts include increased pain, negative self-image, a damaged sense of identity, heightened fear, overwhelming loneliness and feelings of dehumanisation,” she said.
Basetsana Kumalo knows the horror of being bullied online and trending for the wrong reasons.
Author and media personality Jackie Phamotse has been found guilty of four charges including defamation, crimen injuria and violating a protection order in her case against Kumalo.
The matter before the Randburg magistrate’s court revolved around Phamotse’s 2018 Twitter post about an alleged gay sex tape involving the media mogul and her husband, Romeo.
“I cannot tell you what today means for our family. It’s been five horrendous years working this journey and being in this court probably 30 times. The verdict today is really not for only the Kumalos but for every person in this country who works hard, earns a living on their good name, and then wakes up and is shamed,” Basetsana told TshisaLIVE.
“Someone decided to wake up and get on a Twitter mountain with their keyboard. This is a victory for every single person. The many people in this country who have taken their lives from being cyberbullied.
“Today this unprecedented judgment is for all of us, for my children who had to live in shame over the last five years, for my parents’ legacy who raised us well. It’s been horrendous, it’s been horrific, it’s been hurtful, it’s been unkind that someone would wake up and attack people that she doesn’t know.”
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