The Field Marshal

Is Technology to Blame for Happy Slapping? It disturbs me to read in today's papers - Let's Talk About Happy Slapping, that there's a 'happy slapping' video, locally produced, that is doing its rounds on the internet. The victim, I have yet to see the video myself, is allegedly a teenage girl being assaulted by a group of girls. I was aware of happy slapping quite sometime back and I am actually surprised, quite pleasantly, that it took such a long time to reach our shores given the tech-savviness of our teenagers. The lag between the first report happy slapping incident in UK and the recent local case gives some small hope that Singapore's moral fabric is still more or less intact. Having been an owner of a camera handphone for the last 2 years, I know the potential of how such a phone can be abused. For me, the phone is simply a gadget for capturing moments which I would like to remember. These can be places I visited, loving moments with Mydaemon, great food I ate and the company I had. But I am aware the such phones have been used for far more undesirable acitivities. One is the purported voyeuristic streak that seems to plague our society today. Peeping toms seem to be on the prowl everywhere. If outraging of a person's modesty is not enough, we are now witnessing the start, hopefully not, of a happy slapping trend in Singapore. Physical abuse is now added to the psychological abuse suffered by the victims of those who abuse their handphones. While bullying is part and parcel of growing up, being bullied and having a video clip of the bullying session circulating around the internet is going a bit far. Fact #1, bullying is a part and parcel of life. I would like to state that despite my size, garguantan since my primary school days, I was never a bully. Actually, I suffered under bullies who laughed at my girth etc. Kids do have a nasty streak in them when they have the protection of a peer group, i.e. the bullying group. I seriously believe that there's a dark side in many of us, one which will surface when we are allowed to indulge in less socially acceptable behaviour, especially in the anaonymous setting of a big group. Bullies draw their 'strength' and courage to carry out their dastardly acts when they know they have kakis backing them. I will never forget who bullied me, but I have more or less made my peace with them, for they know not what they are doing. Enough of my past. Anyway, I believe technology, as with all things, is a double-edged sword. When put to its correct use, a camera handphone, like I mentioned earlier, captures moments of tender love, beauty, basically happy moments. On the flip side, a minority of users give it a bad name. Instead of capturing the beauty surrounding us, the camera now becomes an accomplice to pain, shame, and downright cowardly behaviours. It's a shame that something so wonderful can at the same time be so terrible. It's time society take a more active role in imparting the right values to the younger generation. Families is the first place to start. Parents should spend less time chasing after the next dollar. Spending quality time is never the same as spending quantity time. Have you heard of spending quality time in office? It's time for our materialistic nation to look inward and truly realise what's important. Don't blame technology, or for the fact UK, for what has happened to the poor girl. If anyone's to blame, blame the parents for not imparting the right values to the bullies.