Teachers fall victim to cyber-baiting
Three in 10 teachers in Singapore have revealed that they have been victims of cyber-baiting, or know a colleague who has, according to the latest Norton Online Family Report.
Cyber-baiting happens when a student incites his teacher into losing his temper while filming it with his mobile phone. The video will then be uploaded onto the Internet to embarrass the teacher and the school.
Singapore is not the only country to be experiencing cyber-baiting, with the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand having one in five teachers who have been victims, or know a colleague who has, Today reported.
Teachers in the city-state recognise that social networking sites help them to engage their students, with The Norton Report stating that 75 per cent of teachers here are friends with their students on such sites. 60 per cent are aware, however, that it exposes them to risks such as cyber-stalking by students and exposure of their personal life.
Norton, which took their survey from 100 teachers in Singapore, also revealed that 68 per cent of teachers said they have to follow a code of conduct set by the school in interacting with their students online.
In another question posed to 200 children in Singapore, 68 per cent said that their parents know what they are doing online. This is lower than the global tally of 83 per cent.
Singapore was one of the 24 countries to have been included in the Norton Online Family Report, which was based on almost 20,000 online surveys between February and March. The 4,500 children surveyed were between the ages of 8 and 17.
