CONSEQUENCES CAUSED BY CYBERBULLYING CAN BE AWFUL, SAYS MARGO COOPER

Jyothi Venkatesh

Sushant Singh Rajput’s death sparked the nepotism debate again, and that led to netizens questioning and trolling the Bollywood industry. From Alia Bhatt to Karan Johar and Sonam Kapoor, many celebrities have restricted the comments on their social media, while some have even quit social media. And this is not the first time that someone has become a victim of cyberbullying or trolling, and it’s not just restricted to celebrities.

Miss World Bulgaria 2019, Margo Cooper says the consequences of cyberbullying can be very shocking and unpleasant. In a post shared on her Instagram account, she had mentioned that the consequences of cyberbullying can be “awful” and “irreversible”. She shared that bullycide has become a global issue due to the widespread of technology and asserted that a bullied person is twice more likely to commit suicide.

“It just crossed my mind recently that as public figures, we do attract both positivity and negativity, and sometimes supporters do cross the line, maybe without even noticing it. Everything is accessible nowadays, and there is a beauty in opportunities we get in the 21^st century, and every opportunity comes with responsibility. The internet, unfortunately, is a place of hate and violence,” she wrote.

“It is almost impossible to grow the immune system that can resist the pain caused by random people, who don’t even know the battles you’re fighting. Consequences caused by cyberbullying can be awful and irreversible. Bullycide has become a global issue with numbers increasing every year due to the widespread use of technology. A bullied person is twice more likely to commit suicide. I consider myself exceptionally lucky to have kind and sincere supporters, but not everyone is that lucky. Words can hurt more than physical pain, and they are wounds that can’t be cured. It is crucial to remain wise even in online space when your face can’t be exposed. Mind your thoughts, mind your tongue and mind your behavior, even if nobody can see you,” she added.

Recently TikTok star, Siya Kakkar, who was just 16, also committed suicide. Talking about the incident, Margo said, “She had over one million followers on TikTok and she had a good number of Instagram followers as well. She was just 16, she died at a very young age. Though the reason for her death is unknown, teenagers are most likely to get bullied on the internet.”

She also feels cyberbullying is most common for public figures, and said that people who don’t match with the mind-set of others are often victims of cyberbullies. She further added, “I think for young people it is especially difficult to overcome this because they are sensitive to the opinion of others. The most important thing we can do is to analyze if we are always kind enough to people around us and we don’t hurt them with our words. It’s important to talk to the young generation about the possible tragic results of bullying. We need to understand that youth is a mirror of adulthood, children just copy the patterns and learn from society what is normal and what is not.”

“As a public person I also have haters, and I would like everyone who reads this to know that all the successful people they see and admire, they have all been through this and it only resulted in their growth. If you are confident, despite the opinion of others, you will be unbeatable. Always think that it’s temporary and that the hate of other people makes them unattractive, not you. A happy person will not bully others. Usually, bullies are the most traumatized ones and they lack love and attention and choose this to get attention,” she added.

Sharing her experience of cyberbullying, Margo said, “Personally, I don’t even pay attention to this, because I have immunity against it but this immunity came only with experience. I know sometimes victims feel that they can’t share their feelings, and I know how it feels. If anyone feels absolutely lonely and can’t find the strengths to contact specialists, I want to say that they can contact me on social media, I will always reply and find the right words to support them. I will end with my favorite quote and hope people understand it, ‘the swamp always hates the mountain, and the higher the mountain, and the more the swamp hates it’.”