Thomas Tan
Reigning Miss Universe Malaysia 2018 Jane Teoh launched #DareToShout campaign to raise awareness against cyberbullying at HELP University, Kuala Lumpur on October 11, 2018 in conjunction with World Mental Health Day.
The #DareToShout initiative founded by Jane was based on her personal experience.
In a sharing session, Jane talked about how she first encountered cyberbullying after being crowned Miss Universe Malaysia 2018 in January this year and how she took the right actions by not to letting it affect her, and the importance of self-worth and not seeking validation from the virtual world.
She said, “We can’t deny the fact that social media plays a big part of our lives now, hence the importance to educate people, especially youths and teenagers to be responsible users. Self-worth and self-validation are important and don’t let what’s going on in online virtual world affect us in real life.
“The youth today especially teenagers are still very vulnerable. They tend to care about what people have to say about them and this needs to stop, that’s where self-worth comes in.
“I was a victim of cyberbullying myself, and I know how it feels to have to go through all of that. I felt hurt by all the unpleasant comments thrown at me. That’s why it is important for me to reach out to the youth, to help them speak up about this issue and eventually overcome it.”
Jane advised victims of cyberbullying to speak out about the issue and to seek help.
“A very big part of overcoming it is by speaking up and be open about it. Most victims choose not to voice out because they think it’s not necessary and people don’t care. Seeking help from close friends and family is also crucial, even seeking help from the professionals would be helpful. Self-validation needs to be taught and instilled in youth today. It’s important to identify the fact that social media is a virtual world that can cause negative impacts when it’s misused,” added Jane
More recently, Jane was one of the personalities involved in ‘End Cyberbullying and False Information Dissemination’ campaign launched by local celebrity, Neelofa in April this year. The campaign was aimed at combating and addressing cyberbullying and dissemination of fake news on social media.
Three guest speakers also shared their motivation to tackle cyberbullying – Fly FM radio announcer Ili Ruzana, Malaysian actress and singer Ruby Faye, and HELP University’s Centre for Psychological & Counselling Services counsellor and lecturer Sarah Yung.
The #DareToShout awareness campaign is held in collaboration with HELP University, and is supported by the Miss Universe Malaysia Organization (MUMO) and Salad Atelier.
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