DEAR Ediotr;
I was watching one of Trevor Noah’s interviews on YouTube.
He was interviewing Monica Lewinsky after her public crucifixion and 15 minutes of shame.
As it is international anti-bullying week, it reminded me of the children’s book I finished writing last August.
It was inspired by the information I gathered as a learner, a teacher and a community member through all walks of life.
I recollected a shared message by my former principal.
The addresser of the meeting reminded principals and staff to warn learners and others about posting personal pictures on social media, as it would stay there for good.
I guess this plea was a result of people who posted too much of their personal information not knowing of the destructive results to their character.
The youth was and still are prone to facing the consequences of social media influences.
It puts one’s future at stake by delaying one’s career from taking off after sharing information unfit for public viewing.
Little did I know that cyber bullying would knock on my daughter’s and my door whether we allowed it to enter or not.
I have never liked social media and as a result my daughter didn’t have social media accounts either.
I only complied for work purposes.
How painful it was when we were treated so badly in public without knowing what was posted about us.
Some people don’t know their boundaries.
Their eyes and ears are literally and figuratively in other people’s houses.
Briefly, they encroached our space and defamed our names in many ways, they hacked my phone and reshuffled my contents while looking at documents and files.
They analysed our lifestyle, drew a derogative report about us and published it without our permission.
I’m thankful to the living God for the wisdom He has given us otherwise we would have ended up throwing in the towel.
Bullies come in different ages and degrees.
The saddest part of this is adults want children to show them respect yet they don’t model good behaviour either.
Adults are not respectful to one another let alone to children or to those who are lowly regarded citizens.
Be careful not to get yourself involved in covenants of ill-treating and causing insults to people who haven’t done you any harm .
To those who have seen the information that was posted and circulated about Penelope and her daughter, Lumka Msweli at the beginning of the year, I would like to let you know that it was pseudo!
PENELOPE MSWELI
Port Shepstone
HAVE YOUR SAY
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