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0 INTRODUCTION
Technology…has all erased the reflection time that once existed between
planning a silly prank (or a serious act) and actually committing the deed.
(Franek, 2005)
In a society that is grappling with the ramifications of the rapid pace of technological
advancement, cyberbullying has emerged as a serious issue in the education system. The
advent of cyber technologies has provided new arenas in which children and youth can bully
each other. Cyberbullying i.e. online social cruelty occurs when three components intersect:
teens, technology and trouble. This perfect storm of elements manifests as harassment,
humiliation and hate that can follow a child everywhere. Because of the advent and continued
growth of technological advances, the transmutation of bullying has occurred – from physical
to virtual. Physical separation of the bully and the victim is no longer a limitation in the
frequency, scope and depth of the harm experienced. As instances of bullying are no longer
restricted to real-world settings, the problem has matured.
Cyberbullying is intentional and repeated harm inflicted through the medium of electronic
text. It involves electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person often done
anonymously. It is emerging as a significant problem which can threaten the health, well-
being and attainment of victims and adversely affect the climate of the peer group and school.
It is the use of information and communication technology to harass and harm in a deliberate,
repetitive and hostile manner. Cyberbullies are malicious aggressors who seek implicit or
explicit pleasure or profit through the mistreatment of other individuals. Technologies are
being used by young people for a wide range of activities that annoy, harass and intimidate
each other.
Ditch the Label, one of the largest anti-bullying charities in the world, conducted survey for
10,008 teenagers and youngsters aged 13-22 years. They found 37% of teenagers experienced
cyberbullying on a frequent basis. Of them 54% had experienced cyberbullying on Facebook.
Duggan and Gassar’s research into technology and teenagers discovered that of 802 teenagers
aged 12-17 years old surveyed, 95% had access to Internet, 78% had a mobile phone, 23%
had access to computers. This statistics illustrate the accessibility of the digital world and the
impact this can have on cyberbullying.
One of the reasons social media, especially social networking sites (SNS) by teenagers has
provided a platform for cyberbullying, is due to the amount of personal data posted and
interactions between users. Social media is more than a communication tool. Teenagers’ lives
revolve around its usage as they have grown up with computers and mobiles, where they have
relied on technology for entertainment and to interact with one another. Cyberbullying can
occur on blogs, websites, in emails, chats, instant messaging and text/digital image messaging
via mobile devices. It can sometimes relate to racial, religious and cultural biases.According
to Parry Aftab, a lawyer who specializes in Internet safety and who is the executive director
of wiredsafety.net, one of the leading Internet sites devoted to cyberbullying, “Cyberbullying
must occur between minors. When an adult becomes involved, the behaviour is called cyber-
harassment or cyber stalking.” A distinction needs to be made between the methods by which
cyberbullying is carried out( e.g., email, chat rooms, etc.), and the kind of behaviour or
exchange being transmitted via that method.
In one of the first books to address the topic of cyberbullying, Cyberbullying and
Cyberthreats, Nancy Willard (2006), an attorney who is the Director of the Center for Safe
and Responsible Internet Use, outlined a number of behaviors that she argues constitute
cyberbullying. Included among these are flaming, harassment, denigration, impersonation,
outing and trickery, exclusion and cyber stalking. Although often equated with chat rooms
because they afford people the opportunity to have a virtual chat with one another, bash
boards more closely resemble Internet polling sites. In fact, they are online bulletin boards
where people can post any information that they want to about any person or any topic.
Internet Gaming is also a platform where cyberbullying occurs. The expression of
dissatisfaction and frustration in the cyber world where people communicate anonymously
using pseudo names tends to be more abusive, threatening and demeaning. In addition,
players can gain unauthorized access to their game accounts.
The Internet provides a window to the world for many children and youth. Not only does it
open up sources of knowledge to people (adolescents in particular) that might otherwise be
difficult to access, but technology also affords adolescents and adults an easy means of
establishing and maintaining social contacts. For some socially anxiously individuals, this
may be their social saving grace.
Cyberbullying is a virtual offence with real and devastating consequences which is occurring
with increasing frequency without any physical altercations. “Unless you’ve been bullied,
you really can’t understand what it’s like and how hard it is to forget. It really leaves a scar
that even time can’t heal”, says a 15 year old victim of cyberbullying. One of the difficulties
in discussing cyberbullying and in attempting to design intervention and prevention programs
related to it, is that there is no simple definition of cyberbullying nor is there a single profile
of the cyberbully. Rather, cyberbullying is a behaviour that can occur through multiple
modalities (e.g., instant messaging, email, chat rooms), appear in a number of guises (e.g.,
harassment, flaming, impersonation) and be perpetrated anonymously by individuals you
would least suspect of bullying someone else. So the guidelines have been devised in many
countries to assist adults, parents, teenagers, schools and teachers to understand the problem
and take effective action against cyberbullying.
Everyone has the right to human dignity. When someone is cyberbullied, this right is
violated. Teens who are victimized often don’t feel safe at their home, school or in
extracurricular activities. Victims stay home away from school because they feel unsafe to go
because of bullying. This raises a huge problem resulting in many students having truancy
issues and wanting to drop out of school.
As technology has evolved, bullying has proliferated. Online publication of personal
information on social media platforms is dangerous because it allows many people to see a
side of a person more often kept private in a face-to-face interaction. This vulnerability puts
many teens in a position as either the victim or active offender taking part in cyberbullying
actions. Another aspect of social media that can be misleading and hazardous is the ability to
create alias profiles. The ability for teens to mask their identities provides them with an
opportunity to say anything to another individual. Social media sites are prone to abuses like
cyberbullying. Anonymous blogging is another technological advancement that has fostered
cyberbullying activities. On some sites, youth were able to login and comment anonymously
in an open
2.1 ONLINE BULLYING: THE SILENT THREAT
Name calling or rumors spreading have long been an unpleasant and challenging aspect of
adolescent life. But the proliferation of Smartphone and the rise of social media has
transformed where, when and how bullying takes place. Some common form of online
bullying is posting hurtful, nasty or humiliating messages about an individual, publishing an
embarrassing photo or video, cyber stalking, creating a fake webpage about another
individual, issuing online threats provoking an individual to kill themselves or hurt someone
else, triggering religious, racial, ethnic or political hate comments or content.
The most common type of harassment the youth encounter online is name calling. Offensive
names online or via cell phone has been given to people majorly teens depend on their outer
body appearance, caste, race, skin color etc. Some teens say someone has spread false rumors
about them on the internet, while some says someone other than a parent constantly ask
where they are, who they are with or what they are doing or have been the target of physical
threat online. Most of the time people get explicit images of someone without their consent.
As per research conducted by Symantec nearly 8 out of 10 individuals are subjected to the
different type of cyber bullying in India. Out of these around 63% faced online abuses and
insults and 59% were subjected to false rumors and gossips for degrading their image. The
study also ranks India as the country facing highest cyber bullying in the Asia Pacific region
more than Australia and Japan. As per Feminism survey, 50% of women residing in prime
Indian cities are a victim of online abuse.
UCLA psychology study explain even when people agree that someone has been a victim of
cyber bullying, bystanders view the victim more negatively when he/she posted a highly
personal disclosure. For example if someone makes a personal disclosure about the popular
program “Games Of Thrones”. “I hate it when a Game Of Thrones episode ends and you
have to wait a whole week to watch more” (negative comment). Or “I love it when a Game
Of Thrones episode ends and you can’t wait until next week to watch more” (positive
comment). The bystanders who are going to read those post will respond accordingly if the
person post more personal expression of his/her feelings, bystanders showed lower level of
empathy and feel more likely to blame the person, so the chances of online bullying increase.
The most common reason for cyber bullying is the result of fractured personal relationships,
due to breakups or unresolved conflicts. Certain groups are especially vulnerable and
frequently targeted. They include LGBTQ students, shy and socially awkward students,
overweight kids and kids that come from low income families.
RETHINK APPLICATION:
Deeply moved to action by the silent pandemic of cyber bullying and passionate to end online
hate Trisha Prabhu, a Harvard University student created the patented technology product
RETHINK that detect and stops online hate at the source, before the bullying occurs, before
the damage is done. Her globally acclaimed research has found that with RETHINK,
adolescents change their mind 93% of the time and decide not to post an offensive messages.
2.5 STATISTICS
Below pie diagram shows the percentage of occurrence of cyberbullying at different places
1. Social Media like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc.
2. SMS i.e. text messages from the cellular network
3. Instant Message Services like Whatsapp, Facebook messenger, I message, etc.
4. E-mail.
Calls
31%
According to our survey, we have got the probability of people who have been cyberbullied
per 100 people. It was observed that more than one fourth of the people who have been
surveyed, are unaware of the concept of cyberbullying.
Below pie diagram indicates the percentage of people who have been cyberbullied, who have
not and who are not sure whether they’ve been cyberbullied or not.
30%
Yes
No
Not sure
61%
On a personal note, I think cyberbullying affects more mentally and emotionally. The
bullying could be public as in comments on the pictures, demeaning someone by writing
posts, leaking personal pictures and videos or in private as to personal texting, threatening,
and more. So, it is definitely something that cannot be compared to physical bullying-having
said that both shouldn’t be tolerated in any case.
2. What is a good way to handle cyberbullying?
It is definitely to talk about it to someone. And by someone, I mean someone who can
actually get you out of this problem. Talking about you getting bullied to your parents is
always a good idea, but expecting them to understand is uncertain. Another option could be
talking to some trusted adult or may be teachers or counsellor, if the college has any. It is
important to share it to someone because it can affect you mentally, putting you in the state of
self-doubt, over-thinking which is detrimental in long run.
3. Should someone who is being cyber-bullied go to police?
I think it does depend on the severity of bullying. Usually when experienced by young
people, it can be solved through talking it out.
4. What kind of cyber-bullying did you face?
Back then when I was in school, Facebook had its own craze. I used to love chatting to my
friends, post pictures, write posts-it was all about that. I made many friends through it, many
of my friends’ friends or complete strangers as well. One day, it happened so, as I was
chatting with this stranger we got into an argument. And it turned really bad. And I remember
him abusing me using cuss words and I didn’t know back then how to react to it. I quickly
blocked him, but I still remember so disturbed by that incident. It wasn’t something that
could be discussed in my family, because I would have been blamed. But that does make you
feel terrible about yourself for a long time.
5. Any other incident that had happened to you or your close ones, that you might
want to tell?
After that incident, I became very selective of my friends’ list. But it always isn’t only about
strangers. I remember one of my friends, for not agreeing to what he wanted me to do, started
threatening me. He used to constantly text me commenting about how I look, abusing me,
threatening me and lots more. And then, I did block him. But it didn’t end there, he made a
fake profile of mine, and started threatening me to talk to people using my identity. That was
the most traumatised situation I had ever been in.
6. How did you handle the situation, then?
I knew the fact that once I agree to doing whatever he asks for, he would keep blackmailing
me in future. I gathered the courage to speak about it to my parents. Of course, I don’t
remember how much of the scolding and beatings I had for the mess I created; I was taken
out of the situation. My parents talked to the guy and told him to stop texting me or his
parents would be called. That was the best decision I had taken then. I think we young people
in India believe parents won’t understand us, but then they are always there for us (excluding
the family drama, scolding and beatings).
7. How did this incident affect you as a person?
It did affect me initially, when he did comment as to how I looked. I became under-confident,
very conscious about the way I looked, in secure for a very long time. It took me a long time
to actually start loving myself for the way I was. Also, I never used to voice my opinions
regarding certain things to avoid arguments as I was constantly scared if someone would
again demean me. This eventually led to me hardly speaking and then someone who wasn’t
taken seriously. Good thing that happened was I knew that my family will always be there, no
matter how badly I get screwed.
8. Thank you, for sharing this with us. Any advice to someone out there who is
trying to cope up with cyberbullying?
I think one advice I would want to give out is do not fall prey to people who blackmail you
online. The kind of abuse you experience there stays with you for a long time and even has
lasting impacts on you as a person. Also, social media is something that shouldn’t be taken
seriously. It's nothing more than a tool to talk to someone who is distant from you, or post
something that you want to share. Giving it too much importance and replacing a meeting
with virtually chatting, is not always a good idea.