Before the year 2020, I used to think that everything people said about how damaging online bullying can be was all lies. I never saw how mere words online could get into someone's life and make the person depressed to the point of thinking about committing suicide.

Then the year 2020 came, and during the lockdown, a lot of us were involved in different online ways of making money. I was among those involved in Ponzi schemes. I had a WhatsApp group that had a lot of people who were into Ponzi, to the extent that even Ponzi platform owners were part of it. We were very close, even though we had not met before. One of those people happened to come to my state, we scheduled a visit, and we met. It was amazing. We took photos and posted them in the group, and everyone was happy.

A few months later, the same guy and I went into a partnership to own a platform. We did, but this guy ran away with all the money realized, including mine. It was a Ponzi platform, and the people in the group had invested their money as well, and everything disappeared just like that. You needed to see how I was heavily drained online. I tried all my efforts to let them know that I had no hand in it and that my money was among the money the guy ran away with. I was heavily bullied online. Even my close friends in the group painted me with all sorts of words. My photo was endlessly used in the group and in other groups, labeled as a "scammer."

I was emotionally down. I couldn't handle emotions , and I had to dissolve my group, which had about 201 active members(almost the cap of WhatsApp group that year). I also deleted a lot of people's numbers just to stay away. I never believed that words online could hurt me that way. Never, I never believed it.

In fact, I have never been dragged and hurt the way that scenario affected me. The few times I was bullied physically during school were minor cases, mostly casual nicknames. Although I was hurt, I was able to bear those moments. Imagine this: our principal back then had the same complexion as me, and he was quite strict. Because of the similarity in complexion, I was often called his son. (I actually laughed while writing this.)

Weighing online and physical bullying:

Ever since I experienced online bullying, I have come to understand that they can both be measured the same way. They hurt the same way, they penetrate deep into the heart in the same way, and neither is softer than the other.

The same force applied to tackle physical bullying should also be applied to tackle online bullying. The same punishment enforced by the law on physical bullies should also be given to online bullies.

I appreciate how the football world is handling cases of bullying, especially those related to racial abuse. Most times, these abuses are carried out online, but when the football authorities are able to trace and identify the bully physically, severe punishments are given to the person.

Thanks for reading.

Image