As an educator working in a rural school, Mr Sphelele Myeni witnessed first-hand cases of social media bullying, which led to conflict amongst learners.

This piqued his interest in conducting a master’s study which explored if social media bullying at rural schools’ mirrored incidents occurring in urban schools.

The study found that learners in rural schools did not perceive social media bullying, impersonating and trolling as serious offenses that warrant reporting or escalation to the police for further investigation.

‘A story that stood out for me was the one of a learner who was abused on social media by other learners after she did exceptionally well on a mathematics test. I realised that jealousy can find its way to social media,’ said Myeni.

‘Although the findings were not entirely unique, it was alarming to see rural school learners use social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp as platforms to humiliate and destroy other learners. They cited reasons such as jealousy and even boredom as factors that contribute to this bullying.’

Myeni highlights the need for strategies and interventions to mitigate social media bullying in rural schools. He argues that this is a significant problem, but teachers are not paying enough attention. This is evident in the fact that many school policies do not specifically address social media bullying.

‘I believe that schools need to establish clear policies on social media bullying. The Department of Education should also better equip educators with the tools and knowledge they need to be able to handle such cases. Learners must be encouraged to engage in discussions, talk shows and presentations on the effects of social media bullying.’

Comparing the experiences of rural learners with those in urban settings, Myeni observed that rural learners who experience social media bullying rarely acquire professional help from psychologists and social workers due to the distance between schools and healthcare facilities. Urban learners, who often live closer to clinics and police stations are better informed about the severity of such bullying, have greater access to support and more often seek help if the school does not intervene.

Supervisor Professor Dipane Hlalele added, ‘Whilst advances in technology are intended for the amelioration of life in general, we also find some unintended consequences, with bullying amongst rural learners carried out though social media. Many studies have confirmed that bullying does exist in rural schools. Myeni’s study adds value by delving into learners’ experiences of social media bullying. I congratulate him on his achievement.’

Describing his research as an eye-opener, Myeni emphasised the urgent need for digital literacy among both learners and educators. ‘Offline safety measures should be taught in rural schools since most learners have access to different social media platforms.’ He acknowledged that there are deeper issues affecting rural school learners that require further investigation.

Myeni expressed his gratitude to his supervisor, wife Zamandosi, the Ngwenya family and friend Ms Nokukhanya Qwabe for their unwavering support.