Cyberbullying Experience App.: Actual cyberbullying displayed on adults’ phones

The gravity of the issue can only be felt when victimized. Therefore, we developed an application which traps adults as victims of cyberbullying.

From cursing calls to sexual harassments, actual cases and curses were collected from interviews and articles to provide real experience. The application gave adults a chance to experience actual cyberbullying.

When opened, users are required to enter their names, so that the application captures users with messages sent in users’ names. Surprised adults may be tempted to tap “Back” button, but a pop-up window appears to complete the experience. The last words of the actual victim were displayed on the last screen to herald the seriousness. Furthermore, elapsed time was shown at the ending copy to appeal to the public.

When finished, adults were encouraged to sign for a social safety net as a call to action.

A censored beta and uncensored trial version were released on Apr. 5, 2016. Prints were made to promote the application, and distributed at an experience booth held in line with Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency on Apr. 15.

Another experience session took place the next day, and we were invited by the Korea Psychological Association of Culture and Social Issues to introduce the application on the symposium titled “Youth School Violence and Suicides.”

In addition, prints were distributed to parent and teachers organizations nationwide, and gained 17 positive feedbacks to open an experience session. Furthermore, Facebook advertisement (to be on-air after Apr. 20) was also created to target general adults.

Finally, cyberbullying started to poke its ugly head above the surface. The application went viral on social media and online communities, and soon reached out to various media outlets including the public TV KBS 7 News, Chosun Biz, Newsis, The PR, Ajnews, Asiatoday, The Segye Times, Yonhap News, E News Today, Geumgang Daily, Medical Today, Korean Biz and more.

Thanks to wide media coverage, cyberbullying among children became a matter of serious concern in the Korean society.

In addition, 19 parents and educational associations including the police agency joined to open an experience session and expand the campaign.