Cyber world: A new bully around
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Cyber world: A new bully around

Cyber-bullying has subsequently been defined as "when the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person"

Post by on Wednesday, October 13, 2021

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Social networking site like Facebook is a place to find your adolescent son or daughter who is playing truant from school. Yes, Face is a new destination for students—a place where they discuss everything from their personal life to the world outside. I will not broach the positive sides of social networking, assuming many people know them, but I do worry about the downsides sometimes. Cyber bullying is one such downside. I do not have any direct reason to hash out the subject other than the usual hoo-ha on social networking sites and the digital junk that clogs up our inbox. Being adults we may pass it off but the young students of our society may sometimes succumb to it. Children have killed each other and committed suicide after having been involved in a cyber-bullying incident.
Cyber-bullying has subsequently been defined as "when the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person". Cyber-bullying may rise to the level of a misdemeanour cyber-harassment charge, or if the child is young enough may result in the charge of juvenile delinquency. Most of the time cyber-bullying does not go that far, although parents often try and pursue criminal charges. At some point in our lives, we all feel too tall, small, fat, thin, ugly, unwanted or unsure about our place in the world. Bullying makes youngsters self-hurt, develop eating disorders, live a lie and sometimes even kill themselves.
It undermines child’s confidence, self-esteem and sense of security. It can affect his performance and attendance at school. And can cause stress and affect his health. Too many times we hear of young people committing suicide because they couldn’t cope with being falsely accused or being constantly badgered about their supposed imperfections. Bullying is nothing new but today it’s more pernicious. It is anonymous and less visible because it is taking place online or via messenger. We can all feel the pain of these youngsters and their families when we see a heartrending video or note describing the bullying and the nightmares that wouldn’t stop. Despite parental attempts to protect children from harm, suicide remains one of the principle causes of death among youngsters.
The social media seem to be playing an increasingly prominent role in this. I can hardly imagine a more traumatic event than a child taking his own life and I understand that parents blame the social media and will have nothing to do with them. And yet it wouldn’t be right to ban your child from accessing the internet. As in the streets and the school playground, preventing this sort of behaviour is well-nigh impossible. What we need is online as well as offline rules for how we relate to others. 
 
Parents and teachers have an important responsibility but they can’t be everywhere at once. Young people should also learn to stand up for themselves in order to protect and respect themselves and each other. Cyber bullies, young and old, are sad individuals who, from the relative anonymity of their laptops or smart phones, are taking out their frustrations on other people. I wish we could convince their victims that it’s not them but the bullies who are the pathetic ones. When schools try to take the matter of cyber-bullying in their hands and start disciplining the student for cyber-bullying actions that took place off-campus and outside of school hours, they are often sued for exceeding their authority and violating the student's free speech right. 
Schools can be very effective brokers in working with the parents to stop and remedy cyber-bullying situations. They can also educate the students on cyber-ethics. There are many ways to curb cyber-bullying which students can adopt but it should be clear to parents that banning internet is not a good option.
(Author is Columnist, Educator and has done Management studies.