Cyberbullying India Has Higher Number of Kids as Victims & Perpetrators

Posted on: Jan 6, 2023 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

Cyberbullying India Has Higher Number of Kids as Victims & Perpetrators

Where does India stand in terms of internet penetration? It should not come as a surprise that India is one of the leading countries when it comes to the number of active internet users. With cheaper data plans and better network availability, the reach is far greater than it ever was. And it is only going to grow in the near future. This makes for an even stronger case for cyber security policy.

Though a higher internet penetration has a lot of perks, there is a downside to it as well. It opens the possibility of a lot of online abuse and bullying. Online bullying is not a new concept and has been around for a while. However, with greater internet penetration, instances of cyberbullying are constantly on the rise.

A few surveys conducted show the extent of cyberbullying that Indian kids are subject to. Approximately 85% of Indian kids are subject to some form of online bullying. Apart from having immediate and short-term impacts, it can have long-term impacts on the mental health of kids. Thus, it must be closely monitored.

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that takes place online. Bullying takes place via electronic communication and can be in the form of threat, abuse, or intimidation. These can either occur through messages or chat services that can let you speak with different players.

Some of the more severe forms of cyberbullying include sexual harassment, trolling, personal threats of harm, doxing, and so on. Some children are even subject to bullying, such as name-calling and being excluded from groups.

As per the definition of cyberbullying, it can also involve deception and in some cases even impersonation of individuals. Unlike what one might think, a cyber security policy can be quite helpful in some of these situations. Being aware of cyber insurance in India along with the coverage will help you decide better.

Children as Victims

The surveys conducted to identify cyberbullying, and its impact has also outlined that Indian kids have the highest chances of being at the receiving end of racist cyberbullying. According to the survey results, about 42% of Indian children have been subjected to racist cyberbullying, which is much higher than the world average of 28%.

Some of the other statistics can be quite unnerving. Apart from racist cyberbullying, Indian children have experienced twice as much cyberbullying in trolling, sexual harassment, and personal attacks. 36% of Indian kids have experienced trolling, whereas the international average is 19%. Sexual harassment for Indian kids stands at 30%, whereas the worldwide average is 15%.

It is even more extreme in some cases. 28% of children in India have received threats of personal harm, which is much higher than the worldwide average of 13%. The numbers remain similar for doxing as well. The Worldwide average is 9%, whereas 23% of children in India have experienced doxing.

When seen at the age group level, younger children are more prone to cyberbullying than older kids. Also, girls are more likely to receive sexual harassment in cyberspace. 32% of the girls between the ages of 10 to 14 years have been at the receiving end, whereas 34% of the girls between 15-16 years and 21% of girls between 17-18 years.

Lack of awareness and, in some cases, even lack of adequate cyber security insurance coverage can be attributed to some of the cyberbullying.

The perpetrators

Now here is the more surprising part. Though children have been at the receiving end of cyberbullying, they are also the perpetrators in a vast number of cases. In fact, 3 out of 4 children have admitted that they have cyberbullied someone else. While 45% admitted to cyberbullying a stranger, another 48% admitted to bullying someone they knew.

And something that makes matters worse is that kids are less likely to speak with their parents regarding cyberbullying. About 45% of all the children who have received cyberbullying do not speak with their parents about the instances. The global average is 25%.

As a result of this, about 58% of the children have deleted their accounts. And 87% of the victims feel safe with their friends, with whom they have shared their experiences.

How can this be avoided?

Cyberbullying is a serious issue and must be addressed at various levels. For some types of cyberbullying, having a robust cyber security policy can be one of the better ways of handling things. You can start by going through the different cyber insurance in India and assessing which plans make the most sense for your children. Apart from this, there are a few other steps that can be taken to avoid cyberbullying.

○ Being aware of certain topics will help you avoid cyberbullying.

○ Avoid posting something that is very private.

○ Always proofread your messages to avoid any sort of mistakes.

○ It is important not to ever post any personal information online.

○ As a rule of thumb, do not open messages from any strangers.

○ You must also avoid forwarding long email threads and hoaxes.

○ Schools can do their bit to create communities and give a task to all members to create awareness of the problem and how to handle them.

○ Sometimes, even volunteering to counter cyberbullying can be helpful.

○ You can provide examples of celebrities that support victims of cyberbullying because they have been victims as well.

○ Monitoring the online activity of kids is another effective way of ensuring that they are not being bullied.

Cybersecurity insurance and cyberbullying

Apart from the above, there are a few other measures that you can carry out to ensure you can stay away from some forms of cyberbullying and strengthen cybersecurity.

○ Always keeping the software that you use up to date is one of the most essential things to better cybersecurity.

○ Creating strong passwords that cannot be easily hacked is another simple yet effective step.

○ You must always be on guard for any sort of scam.

Fortunately, a cyber security insurance policy guards you against some forms of cyberbullying, such as impersonation and scams. It is also important to teach your kids about healthy communication that comes without any judgement or repercussions. Also, it might be a good idea to keep the security of your home updated to counter the more severe forms of cyberbullying.

Conclusion

Cyberbullying is a serious issue, and there is documented evidence of it going to some extreme cases. Indian kids are more likely to be the victims of cyberbullying. Thereby making it even more important for parents to take it seriously. Above are some measures that can help parents and even kids avoid cyberbullying. For some forms of cyberbullying, buying a cyber security policy can help resolve some issues.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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