What Is Cyber Bullying?

Cyber bullying definition is when people use cell phones, chat rooms, instant messaging, e-mail, or social networking sites (Facebook and Twitter) to threaten or harass someone. Cyber bullying is usually done by kids who get early access to these technologies. Before the internet era, bullying often used to happen in person. Children were bullied at recess, assembly, or the bus stop. These days, online bullying or cyberbullying can happen at any time and anywhere with the use of technology. The kids use social media, email, and text messages to communicate with their friends which means cyberbullying cases in India can easily happen. Below are some cases of behavior that is known as cyberbullying.

• • • Sending messages to others for harassment.
    • Sending hurtful emails or instant messages.
    • Posting mean things about others on social media.
    • Making fun of others in an online chat room.
    • Taking out and sharing an embarrassing photo or video of others without permission.
    • Creating a fake account online and pretending to be some other person.
    • Threatening others online or through text message.

Effects of Cyber Bullying

Traditional bullying or Cyber bullying causes significant psychological and emotional agony. Cyberbullied kids experience fear, depression, anxiety, and low self-confidence. They may also struggle academically and experience physical symptoms, and negative feelings. Here are some of the common effects of Cyberbullying on kids and teens.

• • They suddenly start to withdraw and seem upset, with low self-confidence.
  • Girls get more hurtful with Cyberbullying as compared to boys. There was a study conducted on girls between 14 and 16 years of age. 45% admitted that they felt lack of confidence and got upset, 35% felt odd, 34% felt distressed, 24% felt isolated, and 21% felt guilty for being bullied.
  • They stop enjoying activities that used to get them happy and excited.
  • Anger and emotional tension which also leads to depression and panic attacks.
  • Stop showing up in class or sometimes, give up on school completely.
  • The kid stops eating properly or sometimes develops an eating disorder (stress eating).
  • Lack of sleep or even regular nightmares.
  • Drug or alcohol abuse.
  • The kid starts arguing with parents and teachers or even gets violent with others.
  • It can lead to suicidal thoughts as well. 

Signs of Cyber Bullying

What can parents do about cyberbullying? There are many signs of cyberbullying where it can be identified that someone is affected by bullying (either being bullied or bullying others). It becomes important to recognize the warning signs before taking action against bullying. The parents should speak to their children who show signs of being bullied or bullying others.

Signs a Child is being bullied

The parents should look for changes in the child. However, it is not the case with every child that he/she will exhibit warning signs. Below are some of the signs that may point to a bullying problem.

• • • Unreasonable injuries.
    • Lost or destroyed clothes or books.
    • Constant headaches or stomach aches and feeling sick.
    • Sudden changes in eating habits.
    • Difficulty in sleeping or repeated nightmares.
    • Low marks, loss of interest in homework, or not willing to go to school.
    • Unusual loss of friends or avoiding social activities.
    • Declining self-confidence or feelings of helplessness.
    • Negative behaviors such as going away from home, talking about suicide, and harming themselves.

Signs a Child is bullying others

The parents can identify the kids if they are bullying others with below signs.

• • • • Quickly lose control and get into physical or verbal fights.
      • Have friends who bully others.
      • Get aggressive increasingly.
      • Get unexplained extra money or new things.
      • Start blaming others for their problems.
      • Stop taking responsibility for their actions.
      • Always worry about their popularity or reputation.

What are the Consequences of Cyber Bullying?

Cyberbullies face very serious consequences.  Here are some of the consequences of cyberbullying if they are found guilty.

Criminal Charges:

Australia has started penalizing people who are harassing others. There may be imprisonment for three years for committing this offense. In the UK also, there are cyberbullying laws made where if the bullying is serious, then there would be strict actions against the bullies.

School Sanctions:

In the UK, the government has made it mandate that schools must have zero-tolerance policies for traditional and cyberbullying. Schools in Europe also take cyberbullying very seriously.

Why do people do it?

Revenge

Some people fall into the cyberbullying if they try to protect themselves or their friends when someone else criticizes them. It may force them to do some harmful or nasty things in defense.

Power

Cyberbullies always want to show others that they are more powerful and can even get away after doing hurtful actions.

Entertainment

Cyberbullies find it funny and entertaining in hurting other people. They even carry it on if they have a set of people laughing along and supporting them.

Ignorance

Cyberbullies feel that cyberbullying is not the real bullying so they don’t find it hurtful. It shows that they are not concerned about other people’s feelings.

Frustration

There are people who do not know how to deal with anger and frustration. So, they take it out on someone, they find as an easy target.

When your child is the bully

Below are some of the steps to follow when your child is bully.

• • Find out what happened and what was the role of the child in the incident.
  • Show empathy to the victim.
  • Have the child acknowledge his/her mistake.
  • Involve the school, if necessary.
  • Be a role model.

How parents can help?

The solution of cyberbullying is in the hands of parents. They need to sit with their kid and speak to him in a calm and free tone. They should ask him about the reason and why is he behaving in such a way. The parents should be a good listener and avoid blame. The questions should be asked to help him understand that his behavior can affect others such as, “Did it hurt someone? Would you wish others to do that to you?” The parents should make the child understand the moral values that we should respect others, and we don’t want others to treat us that way. The parents should also keep an eye on the child’s use of the internet and mobile phone.

Security Measures Against Cyber Bullying

• • Never reveal your personal details.
  • Do not share your password with anyone.
  • Take care while uploading photos.
  • Think twice before posting anything online.
  • Always try to set up privacy controls on social media.
  • Always try to log out of the online accounts after use.
  • Install monitoring software/antivirus on your computer.
  • Acquire in-depth knowledge of cyberbullying.

Government Policy (Law) to Prevent Cyberbullying in India

Cyberbullying cases can be reported at the cybercrime cell of any city in India irrespective of the place where the act was committed. It is considered as cybercrime or cyber abuse and the laws covering them come under the Information Technology Act. Cyberbullying in India is getting worse with every passing day. Below are some cyber laws that cover some of the acts classified as cyberbullying in India.

• • Section 66A – Sending mean messages through mobile phones.
  • Section 66C – Identity theft.
  • Section 66D – Cheating by using the computer resource.
  • Section 66E – Privacy violation.
  • Section 67B – Publishing or using any material showing children in any sexually act through electronic form.
  • Section 72 – Breach of confidentiality.
  • Section 503 – Sending threatening messages through email.
  • Section 509 – Any act committed to insult the modesty of a woman.
  • Section 500 – Email Abuse.

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