Cyber bullying

Cyber bullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology &
communication. The National Crime Prevention Council has defined it as
“the process of using the Internet, cell phones or other devices to send or
post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.”

Examples of cyber bullying include text messages or emails, rumors sent
by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing
pictures, videos, websites or fake profiles.

Over 80 percent of teens (world-wide) use a cell phone regularly, making
it the most popular form of technology and a common medium for cyber
bullying. India as a country stands 4th in cyber bullying. Also what is
noteworthy is 1 of 10 children have been bullied online, and about 50%
of children are also cyber bullies. Knowingly or unknowingly people
contribute to the bullying in virtual space. Somewhere it’s the feeling of
superiority or simply having fun by demeaning someone that leads to a
criminal act such as bullying.

Types of cyber bullying:

1. Harassment: It involves repeatedly sending inappropriate, hateful, and
   hurtful messages to an individual or a group and is often repeated
   multiple times.
2. Flaming/Trolling: Flaming is similar to harassment, but it refers to an
   online fight exchanged via emails, instant messaging or chat rooms. It is
   a type of public bullying that often directs harsh languages, or images
   to a specific person.
3. Stalking: Electronically following someone and sending targeted
   messages with the intention of scaring, harming, or intimidating
   him/her/them
4. Outing/Doxing: Outing is when a bully shares personal and private
   information, pictures, or videos about someone publicly. A person is
   “outed” when his information has been disseminated throughout the
   internet.
5. Exclusion: Exclusion is the act of intentionally singling out and leaving
   a person out from an online group such as chats and sites. The group
   then subsequently leaves malicious comments and harasses the one
   they singled out.
6. Masquerading/Impersonation: Masquerading is a situation where a
   bully creates a fake identity to harass someone anonymously. In
   addition to creating a fake identity, the bully can impersonate someone
   else to send malicious messages to the victim.

Signs of cyber bullying:

 Signs/symptoms to identify a bullied child include Personality
changes, poor performance in academics and extracurricular
activities, more health problems, tendency to skip school or avoid
certain social gatherings, low self esteem and dullness, use of
alcohol and drugs.

 Bullies can be identified by activities such as sending harmful
messages and posts, infect machines, create fake profiles and post
obscene content, spread rumors, threaten via multiple
emails/messages, tag on obscene posts, spread funny or obscene
pictures on platforms like snap chat, reveal confidential
information, steal passwords and misuse or even as simple as
insulting on whatsapp groups.

 In the current scenario, it is observed that the majority of children
are engaged in bullying. The reason may be triggering factors like
power, popularity, and ignorance of consequences, entertainment,
anger/frustration, revenge, emotional disturbances, peer
pressures, and other psychological problems.

Effects of cyber bullying:

Long periods of Sadness, Anger, Irritability, Loss of interest in activities,
Withdrawal from others, Changes in sleep patterns, Sudden changes in
appetite or eating habits, Always feeling tired or slow, Being restless,
anxious, worried, Not being able to concentrate or think clearly, Feeling
worthless, guilty, helpless, or hopeless, Aches and pains with no obvious
physical cause, Thinking or talking about death or suicide.

Prevention is always the best way. Maintaining digital hygiene can help
keep you safe and have a meaningful & positive internet & social media
presence.

Some quick tips for prevention:

1. Be Polite
2. Don’t post personal things
3. Keep online communication limited
4. Do not meet online strangers in person
5. Secure Passwords
6. Always Logout
7. Do not spend much time on public platforms/groups
8. Block irritants
9. Think before you post. Be careful about your words and images
10. Make settings private
11. Do not use technology to vent your feelings
12. Be sure about your friends online identity
    
    The way we respond to cyber bullying is one of the major things that one
    must keep in mind. If you are bullied – Remember it is not your fault.
    Talk to someone you trust. Stay Calm, Do not respond or retaliate. Some
    important actions/ steps to be taken would be Reporting as Abuse,
    Blocking the person, Warning the person of legal action, Taking
    Screenshots of the messages before deleting, Deleting the posts,
    Changing passwords, Reporting to Anti Bullying Organizations. Further
    going for a counseling session would be advisable to people with mental
    disturbances.
    
    Parents play a major role and are the most important pillar of support to
    children struggling with cyber bullying or any kind of emotional distress
    for that matter. It is important for parents to keep the line of
    communication open and friendly with their children.

Anyone of us can fall prey to cybercrimes, but children being more
experimental in nature are more likely to invite trouble. Being a satellite
parent or a watch dog all the time is practically impossible in the cyber
world. However, the risk can be reduced by educating children about
following cyber hygiene and making a comfortable space with children
enabling them to openly share everything.
The way a parent reacts and deals with children can have an enormous
impact upon their recovery. It is important for the parent to be an
empathetic listener and stay calm. It is a general tendency that every
victim believes/feels it’s also somewhere their fault and goes through a
stage of major guilt. This is the time one would need someone who
understands and assures them that everything will be fine.
It is very vital that if you suspect something wrong, never ignore.
Irrespective of the degree of surety, never ignore the issue and get help.
Treating issues with sensitivity is important but it is important for an
individual to understand that secrecy and avoidance would lead to no
benefit. Further seeking help from experts is important.

Bibliography
https://cyberbaap.org/
Cyber Psychology by N.V.S.Suryanarayana, Goteti Himabindu, V.Neelima
ISAC, CCIO course material

Meghana Reddy Kolli