As online vigilantism catches on and people use social media to publicise wrongdoing, experts have called for the authorities to set up online channels of reporting. Social media experts said that these channels will make investigations more systematic and prevent the public from jumping into conclusions.
Currently, there are hotlines for people to report abuse cases. The Traffic Police also have a feedback portal for people to submit videos of traffic violations and have received nearly 100 videos from last December to March. But there is otherwise hardly any dedicated portal for people to submit videos of perceived wrongdoing that may require investigation.
For sure, the trend in flagging wrongdoing online has had positive effects. Some said the visibility of these posts exerts public pressure that may prompt the authorities to act faster. The elder-abuse video led the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to post a statement on its Facebook page the day the video was uploaded. Such videos also prompt others to take action. When a netizen saw the video, he reported it to the police.
Social media also encourages people who shy away from reporting such cases to highlight them online instead. This can help uncover more cases: While the MSF is notified of about 200 cases of elder abuse every year, social workers said that this is the tip of the iceberg.
However, experts warned that there is a need for dedicated online channels, as online vigilantism may lead to inappropriate or even harmful actions. In the case of the elder-abuse video, Social and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin had voiced concerns that it sparked a "public jury or trial of the individual concerned".
Dr Michael Netzley, a social media expert from Singapore Management University, agrees. "We are seeing only a few seconds or minutes and have none of the context. The possibility for misunderstanding is simply too great," he said.
Besides intruding on the privacy of individuals and compromising their well-being, the online vigilante can easily morph into the bully himself, experts said. "Online vigilantes can take it into their own hands to cyber bully the people seen to be in the wrong, said Mr Delane Lim, chief executive of Agape Group Holdings, which runs youth development courses. In the case of Sim Lim Square mobile phone retailer Jover Chew, who was accused of cheating customers, private information, such as his mobile phone number and address, was revealed to the public.
Said Mr Lim: " The online portal will make it easier for the authorities to obtain specific information, yet control the flow of information by monitoring the content or comments that are inappropriate for public viewing."
Assistant Professor Natalie Pang, also from the Wee Kim Wee School, said the authorities "can leverage the public to gather more evidence and try to make it easier for people to report cases", as some find it easier to go online than go to the police.
Mr Chong Ee Jay, a member of the Media Literacy Council and manager at Touch Cyber Wellness, a voluntary welfare group that teaches Internet safety, warned that the public should not be impatient and take maters into their own hands. "They need to know that there are proper procedures... to report incidents and to trust the authorities to investigate".
Thoughts:
- I feel that this era is where there are a lot of "keyboard warriors" which all agencies should really use to their advantage to better serve the residents. Moving along with the times, we can best tap on these eyes and ears on the ground to report issues so that intervention can come in faster.
- The social media should also be managed properly, alas people might feel that agencies are not doing a proper job on their facebook/ feedback page when queries were not promptly taken up and addressed.
Thoughts anyone?
Yours,
Something Small Thinking Big
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