KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 — Cyberbullying that is growing rampant along with the Internet and online anonymity could also be a sign of underlying issues with bullies themselves, experts said.
A recent incident where a 29-year-old female TikTok influencer allegedly committed suicide due to cyberbullying at the People’s Housing Programme (PPR) in Gombak Setia on July 7 has brought this issue into the public eye.
According to experts, bullies could be acting out the aggression as an outlet for their own emotional trauma.
“By hurting others, it externalises their pain by intimidating others. Their unhealthy coping mechanisms push them to bully to feel better about themselves,” International Islamic University of Malaysia clinical psychologist Nadzirah Ahmad Basri told Malay Mail.
Bullies may lack empathy and remorse, which makes them likely to enjoy seeing their victims suffer, she said.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Centre for Psychological and Counselling Service Director Zulfikar Ahmad said bullying could be caused by unresolved “bad memories”, which could include being bullied previously.
Bullying could be a way for someone feeling helpless in parts of their life to exert power and control by picking on others, he said.
But sometimes bullying could be just plain aggression, he said.
Nadzirah added, “In many cases, the bullies are not good with social interactions, so they use power or their large body build to make others obey and follow whatever they say or ask to do.”
Insecurity can also be a factor as to why people bully others to feel superior, sometimes it is linked with social status and jealousy, she said.
Nadzirah also explained that bullies feel better when they put others down because they have low self-esteem.
Occasionally, bullies learn the aggression from their parents’ behaviour.
“Some observe through their parents that the way to express anger is to hurt others,” Nadzirah said.
“So, they express their anger and frustration by incurring pain on others.”
* If you are lonely, distressed, or having negative thoughts, Befrienders offers free and confidential support 24 hours a day. A full list of Befrienders contact numbers and state operating hours is available here: www.befrienders.org.my/centre-in-malaysia. There are also free hotlines for young people. Talian Kasih at 15999 (24/7); and Talian BuddyBear at 1800-18-2327(BEAR)(daily 12pm-12am).
