Cyberbullying, online gambling rising among Singapore youth

abs-cbnnews.com | 07/17/2008 4:49 PM

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Image taken from Singapore Problem Gambling Conference brochure

By DAVID DIZON
abs-cbnNEWS.com

Increased connectivity in the island state of Singapore has led to a rise in cyberbullying and online gambling especially among Singapore youths, according to research papers presented at a media forum in Manila Hotel this week.

While broadband penetration rate in Singapore has reached as high as 78.2 percent this year, more Singaporean youths revealed being on the receiving end of online harassment including cyberbullying and frightening e-mails. In 2005, local research revealed that one-third of teenagers, mostly females, reported receiving e-mails that frightened or bothered them.

In the paper “Online Harassment: Application of a Protection Motivation Model Amongst Youth in Singapore”, authors May Lwin, Benjamin Li, Dunstan Lee, Dunstan, Zi Xuan Lim and Jolene Tan blamed excessive disclosure of information for the rise in online harassment cases among teenagers. At least 537 students aged 12 to 19 participated in the study conducted by the authors.

The paper showed that many teenagers have adapted to online harassment by fabricating information to disguise their identity, using online tools to ensure online privacy and even refusal to provide information online.

“An example of a teenager protecting himself against online harassment will involve making use of functions available on Web sites to limit access to his blog and social networking Web page so that only his close friends can view it, and withholding personal data on public Web sites,” the paper said.

Curiously, many teenagers interviewed for the study admitted that their perceived susceptibility to online harassment did not automatically result in protective online behavior. One explanation noted by the authors is that teenagers are more prone to risk-taking than adults and that susceptibility is not significant enough to motivate them to protect themselves online.

The authors said the high online harassment rates among Singaporean teenagers should serve as a reality check to Singaporean social marketers, policy-makers and educators. They recommended that online social campaigns such as “Project CRuSH” and “I LOVE IT!” address the issue of online harassment in Singapore by increasing coping appraisal beliefs.

Finally, the Singaporean Ministry of Education should also support school policies that would raise awareness on the severity of online harassment and its consequences.

Online gambling also rising

A separate paper written by Elmie Nekmat and Sun Sun Lim of the National University of Singapore's Communications and New Media Program also showed more Singapore youth being hooked to online gambling.

In the paper "New Media and Youth: The motivations and gratifications of online betting amongst Singaporean youths," 14 Singaporean youths admitted betting online at least once a week using their personal computer or laptop at home or in school. Some used their cell phones to place bets online especially during football matches.

The authors said online betting is becoming popular among the youth due to ease of access, convenience and affordability. Instead of paying cash at a legitimate gambling outlet, teenagers use stored value credits to gamble online and get online credits for any winning bets.

Many interviewees said there are better variety of matches online and better betting options as compared to offline betting. Online betting also provides the flexibility for users to place bets of any amount, making the activity more affordable than offline betting.

Interviewees said online betting can be done at any hour of the day using readily available hardware such as personal computers, laptops and mobile phones. This raises the number of spur-of-the-moment betting done at home. One interviewee even said he places bets through the Internet and then checks the live score on GPRS for possible addition of bets.

The study showed that the anonymity given by the Internet was also a plus factor cited by the teenagers hooked on online gambling. When asked why they preferred to be anonymous, the interviewees said they were aware of the negative social perception of gamblers and were afraid of repercussions from family members or even authorities who would frown upon the illegal activity.

Finally, some interviewees said they would rather bet online than be seen in traditional betting outlets, which is usually populated by the older generation.

The authors said online gambling continues to gain more followers despite a ban imposed by the Singapore government. One way of curbing the phenomenon, according to the authors, is to educate and raise the awareness of youth on the opportunities and more importantly the perils of the Internet medium.

“Future studies on online gambling should be encouraged amidst forecasts that this phenomenon is looking to only proliferate,” they said.

as of 07/17/2008 4:49 PM