Times Of Swaziland: A PLEA TO YOUNG PEOPLE

A PLEA TO YOUNG PEOPLE
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Editor on 22/04/2024 08:07:00


Sir,
Suicide is one of the problems that cannot be sent to extinction, especially
among the youth. It has normalised itself as one of the easiest ways out of
depression, isolation or from a problem that exposes one to the world.  Suicide
cannot just disappear, but can be minimised or substituted by better answers to
life problems. This is a plea to young people to take care of one another by
minding their actions towards fellows.
Depression
Cyber bullying is currently number one in leading the youth to depression, which
normally leads to suicide. Cyber bullying can be generally defined as the use of
social media or electronic communication to bully a person. People who use
social media are aware of such and some who have been victims and survived can
attest to the kind of isolation and despair suffered when attacked. Some have
been shamed racially, bodily and some beaten up and posted on Facebook or X
(formerly Twitter). In one blink, such a post goes viral and the victim fails to
handle the negative comments, the mocking and the thought that one is going to
forever see that whenever he logs in. The thought that the video is going to be
seen by millions and that it will forever be there, kills one even before the
act of suicide happens. As alluded above, suicide then volunteers to be the sole
and easy way out of misery and unnecessary shame.
Conscious
Therefore, as the youth, you are asked to be careful of the negative comments
and be conscious of the escalating list of young people suffering from cyber
bullying. Those who react and comment on a post negatively, and those who
re-post, are the second accomplices to the crime of cyber bullying. It is beyond
reasonable doubt that as human beings we do not all have the time advance of our
thinking to the consequences of our actions. One would say it is ‘merely a
single, fun comment’, it is a joke. However, the single-fun comments increase
from many who react to the post and form a thousand negative comments too
overwhelming to handle. The criticisms, the judgments and shaming comments
literally expose the nakedness of the victim. Thus the shame becomes worse than
the initial bullying that happened and again drives one to a negative solution
of escaping the bullying. In conclusion, it is the duty of people to act
maturely when it comes to social media because many of us are guilty of
destroying people’s lives and sending some to the cemetery by our negligent
posting, sending negative comments to their posts and our silence to the act of
bullying.