Cyber bullying in social media platforms
Cyber bullying in social media platforms
- Akansha Sharma
India has one of the top ranks for having the highest number of internet users, and also has maximum number of global sexual harassment cases. The harassment faced by women online mirrors the image of harassment faced by them in the physical world. Cyber harassment is a continual online expression which amounting to the course of conduct pointed at a particular person that causes the targeted individual substantial emotional distress and/or also the fear of bodily harm. The most striking is that instances of cyber stalking against men are on a surge. Experts have opinions that the ratio is 50:50 vis-a-vis the instances of cyber stalking faced by men and women.[1] Cyber Crimes are crimes that happen over the web where the accuser of the +*-99, spare by the veil of a computer screen need not establish any physical contact with the sufferer or may not always revealed their identity. Crimes over the internet could be in the nature of cyber stalking, cyber bullying, cyber harassment, identity theft, breach and violation of privacy/confidentiality of a person, voyeurism and revenge pornography though falling within the ambit of cyber harassment, is one such cybercrime which has seen a lot of discussion of late owing to increased instances of non-consensual pornography. Recently, there has been a rapidly persuade in cybercrime cases against women, especially sextortion, during the COVID-19 which induced lockdown with "caged criminals" targeting them online. According to National Commission for Women (NCW) data, 54 cybercrime complaints were received online in April in comparison to 37 A abusive behavior—the harassment happens more than once or has the potential to happen again in order to be considered bullying. Cyber bullying also involves an imbalance of power and repetition (or the potential for repetition) via any form of electronic communication, such as texting or online, on websites, social networks, via e-mail, etc.
In so many ways societies has evolved and yet stayed the same in many others. Only the methods have changed. Cyber bullying has been around for a while now, but people have just recently begun realizing that the problem needs to be addressed. Let’s look at some of the causes behind cyber bullying and how everyone can do their part to prevent it. There’s a common misconception that it’s only children that suffer from cyber bullying. Of course, the issue does affect them. It’s made worse by how hard it is for parents to keep up with what their children are doing online. But cyber bullying is an issue that can affect anyone and does affect people of any age from all over the world. The reasons why people decide to bully others online are varied, and have some of the most common factors. It gives advices for both parents and individuals on how to fight the epidemic and keep their children and themselves safe. A lack of empathy technology enables people to distance themselves from a situation even while they are in it. Cyber bullies cannot see the pain they cause and thus cannot imagine the confusion that they put their victims through. In fact, many cyber bullies who were ousted and questioned after the fact said that the act made them feel funny and powerful.[2] Because they feel the victim deserves it when it comes to school children bullying others, its status is often rooted through perception. Insecurities are a major factor in bullying and pupils often try to put their peers down to feel superior.
This is true for adults, too and so it’s common for people to try and discredit or bully others based on a difference of opinion or a sense of superiority. Celebrities aren’t immune to this either. Recently the actress Kelly Marie Tran deleted her instagram account after constant abuse by Star Wars fans. Boredom becomes pain when there’s no denying that cyber bullies get a sort of kick out of targeting others online. It can almost become an addiction of where they need a constant fix. Anyone who’s ever been part of a Facebook or Twitter feud can attest to the fact that it’s too easy to get entangled. These are the platforms which makes it hard to ignore incoming messages. It’s very easy to just type back a reply or keep logging on to re-read the messages. In case of self-loathing studies have found that there is a strong connection between previous victims and current cyber bullies. As same as violence in real life, virtual bullying is a perpetuating cycle of anger. Therefore, the problem of cyber bullying continues to cycle and gets worse each and every time. These aren’t the sole reasons cyber bullies do what they do. But these are the more common reasons found among those who have investigated cases of cyber bullying.
Any of the reasons behind it, cyber bullying is a contemporary issue. It’s a result of modern technology, and the problem can only escalate further as technology keeps getting more advanced.
Cyber bullying in India has reared its ugly head in more ways than one and it is only getting worse with every passing day. It is very shocking that there are no special Anti-Cyber Bullying Laws in India yet. There are some cyber laws though that cover some of the acts classified as cyber bullying in India. Section 66A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) is of sending offensive messages through communication service, etc. Section 66C of IPC is of identity theft. Section 66D of IPC is of cheating by personation by using the computer resource. Section 66E of IPC is of violation of privacy. Section 67B is of punishment for publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in any sexually explicit act, etc. in electronic form. Section 72 of IPC is of breach of confidentiality and privacy. Section 503 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) is of sending threatening messages through email. Section 509 of IPC is of word, gesture or any act which intended to insult the modesty of a woman. Section 499 of IPC is of Sending defamatory messages through email. Section 500 of IPC is of email abuse. In November 2017, an MBBS student in Kerala jumped from the highest floor of her college building and results to her death. An inspection of her Facebook profile showed her displeasure over the unpleasant comments made one of her peers. Through investigation police find that cyber bullying provoked her to take this extreme step.In February 2017, the numbers of students at a literary event in Delhi’s Ramjas College were attacked by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) [3]. At that time, a 20-year-old student from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi, imagine that her online campaign against the violence would forever change her life? The student, Gurmehar Kaur, has been trolled and abused extensively on social media platforms. This is another example of the ugly state of cyber bullying in India. Likewise each day yet another innocent life is subject to online torments and cyber bullying in India.
Thus, fighting cyber bullying will take hard work and a mind-shift in society at large. However, it’s very essential for everyone to start the fight against toxic online behaviour now before it keeps escalating. So, technology is a big part of everyday life and cyber bullying shouldn’t become a regular part of it.
Reference :-
[1] https://ifflab.org/how-to-prevent-cyber-bullying-anti-cyber-bullying-laws-in-india/
[2] https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/cyberbullying-which-3-social-networks-are-worst
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberbullying
