In an era where social media offers unparalleled convenience and more teens are active online, the prevalence of cyberbullying poses a daunting challenge. But amidst the digital noise, how can we foster a culture of kindness in the virtual realm?
This is what four final-year students from Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information are hoping to achieve with their cyber-kindness communications campaign, #SUPERKIND.
“When researching for this project, we looked at the comments section on TikTok every other day and it was so easy to find a negative comment the moment we opened it”, shared Vanessa Soh, a member of the team.
In their pre-campaign survey and focus group discussions, they found that more than half of the participants admitted to lacking knowledge about practising kindness online.
Additionally in 2022, a study by Sunlight Alliance for Action (AfA) revealed that nearly half of the 1,000 Singaporeans surveyed had encountered some form of online negativity, particularly among those aged 15 to 35.
Motivated by these findings, Vanessa and her teammates Ashley Koh, Ethan Chan, and Shannon Ching conceptualised #SUPERKIND as part of their final-year project.
Its mission? To make cyber-kindness cool and fun for those between the ages of 13 and 18, while simultaneously combating negative online behaviour and nurturing a culture where kindness prevails.
Shannon said: “We know that many existing campaigns discourage cyberbullying and people already know it. So we thought: “How can we approach this topic differently and more positively?””
As such, #SUPERKIND adopts a playful aesthetic, injecting vibrancy into a topic often met with indifference in schools. Through relatable content on social media, the campaign hopes to depict kindness as not just a virtue, but a cool and fun way of interacting online.
View this post on Instagram
As part of their outreach, the team organised roadshows at Temasek Polytechnic and St. Andrew’s Junior College (SAJC) in January and February respectively.
The booths allowed students to explore various #SUPERKIND Auras — the Ninja, Boombox, Watchdog and Joker — each representing a type of cyber-kind persona that adolescents can adopt in the online realm.
Charlotte Su, a J2 student from SAJC said: “A campaign like this makes us feel more conscious of what we are saying. It helped us learn more about the different cyber-kindness acts, especially about empathy online.”
Additionally, another SAJC student Priyanka Logapreyan pointed out that receiving hate has become particularly normalised for those with a large online following.
She said: “People don’t think about how bigger creators like Ian Jeevan, will face constant hate. ‘You’re so big you’re bound to get hate comments’ might be something you hear,” adding that she had received hate comments on her own TikTok lives before.
To amplify their message, the campaign enlisted the support of online personalities Adeline Tay, Ian Jeevan, and Kevin Wee of Radical Kindness, who shared their experiences with cyberbullying and offered tips on navigating negative online interactions.
Supported by the National Youth Council Young ChangeMakers, Singapore Kindness Movement and TOUCH Cyber Wellness, #SUPERKIND has garnered positive feedback, with educators reaching out to invite the team to share at their schools.
“Sometimes it’s hard to know for sure if the students we’ve reached out to resonate with the message,” said Ethan, “But I think with people reaching out to us now, it signifies that at least the word we are spreading is getting to places.”
Looking ahead, the team aims to extend the longevity of their project by distributing #SUPERKIND kits to schools equipped with teaching materials and card games, to foster conversations about cyber-kindness in schools.
Ashley said: “We may not have a super huge impact at the moment, but it’s a start. We hope to create conversations about them in the future and we hope that being kind online will become a culture.”
Join the movement and follow #SUPERKIND on Instagram and TikTok to learn more.