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dren had experienced cyberbullying. “
Around 60 per cent of them said yes.
Shen Yuefei, who has worked in a The young generations are ‘net natives’.
middle school in Shenzhen for over
10 years, has observed a similar trend But their mental development is not ready

in China.
“It is worrying to see that teenag- to handle the cyberworld.
ers care about their appearance rather ”
than their study. I find that more stu-
dents nowadays suffer from bullying birthmark on her right cheek. Other ment is not ready to handle the cyber-
and depression because of their body students called her ‘dinosaur’ instead world,” says Cheng.
figure,” she points out. of her real name. They discussed her She points out children will lack
appearance in group chats.” empathy, as they do not see or feel
“The girl had planned to jump from the pain of others after they have hurt
the second floor of the school building someone online.
after a boy made fun of her look on “Social media platform has the re-
WeChat. He posted her photo with in- sponsibility to protect teenagers from
sulting marks on her face in a group harmful information like bullying or
chat. The student was subsequently violence,” Cheng says, “They should
transferred to a private school,” she change their profit-driven algorithms
continues. but surely the cost will be high to the
Shen reveals the school manage- social media companies.”
ment offered RMB ￥150,000 to her The social work professor who
parents and asked them not to speak focuses her study on mental health
to the media or report to the education promotion and media studies points
bureau. out that strengthening media literacy
education is necessary.
Cheng suggests parents give more
attention to their children’s mood
swings when they are using social me-
dia platforms.
“Cutting electronic devices off
A girl wears the school uni- from children will not be a smart
form and posts her photos on Cheng Qijin choice especially when teenagers are
Weibo, a Chinese social media in their rebellious stages,” Cheng says.
Shen’s school set up a unit to han-
platform. dle students’ mental issues after the “Parents should guide and keep
According to a journal article is- incident in September 2012. their children accompanied when
sued on The Clinical Psychological “But I have never seen anyone they are using social media. Schools
Science in November 2017, compared seeking help from the unit. Schools should introduce guidelines on surf-
with adolescents who spend only one nowadays are trying to deal with ing on the internet in their curricu-
hour per day, those who spend more these issues in a low-key manner,” lum,” she says.
than five hours per day on social me- says Shen.
dia have a 66 per cent increased risk of Cheng Qijin, assistant professor
suicide-related outcomes. from the social work faculty of the
In March 2021, a 15-year-old stu- Chinese University of Hong Kong,
dent from Shen’s school attempted su- believes that social media is one of
icide after suffering from cyberbully- the factors that affect teenagers’ men-
ing and body shaming for more than tal health. Edit by Vivian CAO
one year. “The young generations are ‘net Sub-edit by Soweon Park
Shen recalls: “That girl has a big red natives’. But their mental develop-