2. A Report On
CYBER BULLYING
Submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirement
of the term work in the subject of
Business Communication & Ethics Sem V, 2020-2021
By:
SR. NO. GROUP MEMBERS ROLL NUMBER
1 Gauri Manoj Desai 18EE1064
2 Saujas Sachin Chitnis 18EE1117
3 Jatin Vasant Chaudhari 18EE1164
4 Omkar Shivaji Desai 18EE1035
5 Sejal Shankar Desai 18EE2006
6 Prathamesh Yeshwant Chaudhari 18EE2010
7 Deepak Sunil Chavan 18EE2021
8 Dwijal Sayaji Gaikwad 18EE1082
Department of Electronics Engineering,
Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, Signature
University of Mumbai.
3. CERTIFICATE OF COURSE COMPLETION
This is to certify that ____________________________ has carried out the report work presented in
this report entitled “CYBER BULLYING” for the course completion of „Business Communication
and Ethics‟ in Semester V of Electronics Engineering from Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology,
Nerul, Navi Mumbai under the guidance of Mrs. Anupama Shenoy. The report embodies result of
original work, and studies carried out by the students.
_________________
Signature of the Professor
Mrs. Anupama Shenoy
Department of Electronics Engineering
Date: ………………………
Place: ……………………...
4. PREFACE
It is a great opportunity for us to present before you our project titled „CYBER BULLYING‟.
The basic objective of this project is to tell about one of the major hardships anyone, be it pre-
pubescent teens or adults, have to tackle in their day-to-day life. In this report we have stated the
causes, harmful psychological and physical effects, along with solutions to prevent or report any
instances of cyber-bullying.
5. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We feel privileged to pay our deepest sense of gratitude and sincere thanks to our BCE subject teacher
Mrs. Anupama Shenoy ma‟am, for her excellent guidance sessions and kind supervision throughout
our project work. Her prompt and encouraging help led us to the completion of this work.
Finally, we would like to extend our gratitude towards our H.O.D sir- Dr. V.A. Vyawahare and our
respected Principal sir- Dr. M.D. Patil, for their support.
6. ABSTRACT
Cyberbullying is a pervasive social behaviour that can cause many negative psychological,
behavioural, and health outcomes for cyber-bulling victims. Research has shown that cyberbullying
occurs all over the world, across the developmental life span, and for both males and females.
Cyberbullying has been identified as an important problem amongst youngsters as well as adults in
the last years. This report addresses some general issues in the field. We will discuss the definition of
cyberbullying, the types and the psychological effects on the cyber victims supported by some case
studies.
7. TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE …………………………………………………………………………………………......II
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………………………………………….III
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………………..IV
1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………..…………………………………………1
1.1 DEFINITION OF BULLYING…………………………………………………..………..1
1.2 TYPES OF BULLYING…………………...………..…………………...……..…………1
1.2.1 INDIVIDUAL…………………………………………...………………………..1
1.2.2 COLLECTIVE………………………...………………….………………………2
1.2.3 MOBBING……………………………...………………………….……………..2
1.3 CYBER BULLYING………………………………...……………...………………….…3
2. COMMON CYBERBULLY METHODS..................................................................................4
2.1 HARRASMENT………………………………………………………………….……….4
2.2 IMPERSONATION……………………………………………………………………….4
2.3 INAPPROPRIATE PHOTOGRAPHS…………………………………………………….5
2.4 WEBSITE CREATION.......................................................................................................5
2.5 VIDEO SHAMING………………………………………………………………………..5
2.6 OTHER METHODS……………………………………...……………………………….6
3. CAUSES OF CYBER BULLYING……………………………………...................................7
3.1 SELF-LOATHING………………………………………………………………………...7
3.2 LACK OF EMPATHY……………………………………..……………………………...7
3.3 EGOISTIC TENDENCIES………………..……………….................................................7
3.4 INSECURITIES………………..…………………………………......................................7
3.5 PEER INFLUENCE………………………………………………………………………..7
3.6 PERSONAL GAIN…………………………………………...……………………………7
4. EFFECTS OF CYBER BULLYING……………………..……………..……………………..8
4.1 PHYSICAL EFFECTS……………………………………………...……………………..8
4.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS…………………………………..…………………….....9
5. CASE STUDY…………………………..………………………………..…………………..10
5.1 CYBER BULLYING IN SSR SUICIDE CASE…………………………………………10
5.1.1 ON BOLLYWOOD………………..…………………………………………....10
5.1.2 ON MUMBAI POLICE & MAHARASHTRA GOVT……………………..…..11
5.1.3 ON RHEA CHAKRABORTY……………………………………………….….11
6. WAYS TO PREVENT CYBERBULLYING...........................................................................13
6.1 TALK…………………………………...…………………………………….…………..13
6.2 USE CELEBRITY CARD…………………………………...………….………………..13
6.3 MONITOR ONLINE ACTIVITY………………………………...……………………...13
6.4 ENGAGE PARENTS AND YOUTH…………………………………………….………13
6.5 BUILD A POSITIVE CLIMATE…………………………………...……………………13
6.6 VOLUNTEER IN THE COMMUNITY…………………………………………………13
6.7 RESTORE SELF-RESPECT..............................................................................................14
9. 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 DEFINITION OF BULLYING
Bullying is an aggressive behaviour of more powerful individuals against weaker ones, for example
hitting, verbally threatening or mocking, spreading rumours, taking the money and other actions.
Bullying typically peaks in frequency during adolescence. It is the use of force or threat, to abuse,
aggressively dominate or intimidate. This behaviour is often repeated and habitual. Bullying is a
subcategory of aggressive behaviour characterized by the following three minimum criteria:
(1) Hostile intent,
(2) Imbalance of power, and
(3) Repetition over a period of time
Bullying is the activity of repeated, aggressive behaviour intended to hurt another individual,
physically, mentally, or emotionally. It ranges from one-on-one, individual bullying through to group
bullying, called mobbing, in which the bully may have one or more "lieutenants" who are willing to
assist the primary bully in their bullying activities. Bullying in school and the workplace is also
referred to as peer abuse.
1.2 TYPES OF BULLYING
Bullying has been classified by the body of literature into different types. These can be in the form of
nonverbal, verbal, or physical behavior. Another classification is based on perpetrators or the
participants involved, so that the types include individual and collective bullying. Other
interpretations also cite emotional and relational bullying in addition to physical harm inflicted
towards another person or even property. There is also the case of the more recent phenomenon called
cyberbullying.
1.2.1 Individual: Bullying tactics are perpetrated by a single person against a target or
targets. Individual bullying can be classified into four types outlined below:
Physical- Physical bullying is any bullying that hurts someone's body or damages their
possessions. Stealing, shoving, hitting, fighting, and intentionally destroying someone's
property are types of physical bullying.
Verbal- Verbal bullying is one of the most common types of bullying. This is any bullying
that is conducted by speaking or other use of the voice and does not involve any physical
contact.
Relational- Relational bullying or sometimes referred to as social aggression is the type of
bullying that uses relationships to hurt others. Social exclusion is one of the most common
types of relational bullying.
Cyberbullying- Cyberbullying is the use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target
another person. This includes bullying by use of email, instant messaging, social media
websites (such as Facebook), text messages, and cell phones.
10. 1.2.2 Collective: Collective bullying tactics are employed by more than one individual against
a target or targets. Collective bullying is known as mobbing, and can include any of the
individual types of bullying.
1.2.3 Mobbing: Mobbing refers to the bullying of an individual by a group, in any context,
such as a family, peer group, school, workplace, neighbourhood, community, or online.
When it occurs as emotional abuse in the workplace, such as "ganging up" by co-
workers, subordinates or superiors, to force someone out of the workplace
through rumour, intimidation, humiliation, discrediting, and isolation, it is also referred
to as malicious, nonsexual, non-racial /racial, general harassment.
FIGURE NO 1
11. 1.3 CYBERBULLYING
Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means.
Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly
common, especially among teenagers, as the digital sphere has expanded and technology has
advanced. Cyberbullying is when someone, typically a teenager, bullies or harasses others on
the internet and in other digital spaces, particularly on social media sites. Harmful bullying behaviour
can include posting rumours, threats, sexual remarks, a victims' personal information, or pejorative
labels (i.e. hate speech). Bullying or harassment can be identified by repeated behaviour and an intent
to harm. Internet trolling is a common form of bullying that takes place in an online community (such
as online gaming or social media) in order to elicit a reaction or disruption, or simply just for
someone's own personal amusement. Cyberstalking is another form of bullying or harassment that
uses electronic communications to stalk a victim; this may pose a credible threat to the victim. Not all
negative interaction online or on social media can be attributed to cyberbullying. Research suggests
that there are also interactions online that result in peer pressure, which can have a negative, positive,
or neutral impact on those involved.
Cyberbullying is often similar to traditional bullying, with some notable distinctions. Victims of
cyberbullying may not know the identity of their bully, or why the bully is targeting them, based on
the online nature of the interaction. The harassment can have wide-reaching effects on the victim, as
the content used to harass the victim can be spread and shared easily among many people and often
remains accessible long after the initial incident.
FIGURE NO 2
FIGURE NO 3
12. 2. COMMON CYBERBULLY METHODS
2.1 Harassment
Harassing someone is a common method of online bullying. Participating in text wars or text attacks,
which occur when bullies gang up on the victim and send thousands of texts. These attacks not only
cause emotional distress but create a large cell phone bill. Posting rumours, threats or embarrassing
information on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.Using text
messaging, instant messaging and email to harass, threaten or embarrass the target etc are some of the
ways of online harassment. The most common types of online harassment according to Indian
students are- sexual remarks with 12.1% of harassment, online rumours with 20.1% of harassment and
mean comments with 22.5% of harassment. Other types of harassment with count of 45.3%. Types of
harassment, who have personally experienced are any harassment with 53% of record, 41% of name-
calling harassment, 37% of any form of severe harassment, 33% of purposeful embarrassment, 22%
of physical harassment, 18% of sexual harassment, and 17% of sustained harassment.
2.2 Impersonation
A cyberbully may also impersonate another, causing problems in that person's life. The bully may:
Change the target‟s online profile to include sexual, racist or other inappropriate things, develop a
screen name that is similar to the victim‟s screen name and then posting rude or hurtful remarks while
pretending to be the victim, set up an account on a social networking site and posting as the victim
while saying mean, hurtful or offensive things online. Actual photos of the victim may be used to
make the account look authentic, steal the victim‟s password and chatting with other people while
pretending to be the victim, the bully will say mean things that offend and anger the victim‟s friends
or acquaintances etc.
FIGURE NO 4
13. 2.3 Inappropriate Photographs
Bullying may include the use of embarrassing or inappropriate images. This may include: Posting
nude pictures on photo sharing sites for anyone on the Internet to view and download, sending mass
emails or text messages that include nude or degrading photos of the victim. This behaviour is often
called “sexting,” and once the photos are sent, there is no way to control it. The photos can be
distributed to hundreds of people within just a few hours. Taking nude or degrading pictures of the
victim in a locker room, a bathroom or dressing room without his or her permission, threatening to
share embarrassing photos as a way of controlling or blackmailing the victim, using photographs to
shame someone online. One common tactic teens use is to engage in slut shaming. This behaviour
involves shaming someone, usually a girl, for the way she dresses, acts or the number of people she
has dated.
2.4 Website Creation
A bully may create a website, blogs, or poll to harass another person. The bully may: Conduct an
Internet poll about the victim, questions in the poll may vary including everything from who is ugly
and who smells to who is dumb and who is fat, create a blog about the victim that is embarrassing,
insulting or humiliating, develop a website with information that is humiliating, embarrassing or
insulting for the victim, post rude, mean or insulting comments about the victim via the chat option of
online gaming sites. Post the victim‟s personal information and pictures on a website, which puts the
victim in danger of being contacted by predators, spread rumours, lies or gossip about the victim
online through websites or blogs. Sending viruses, spyware or hacking programs to the victim in order
to spy on the victim or control his or her computer remotely, use the information that was shared in
confidence and making it public etc.
2.5 Video Shaming
The use of videos may be used for online bullying. It may involve: Creating an incident that causes
another person to become upset or emotional and then record the incident. This type of activity is
often referred to as cyber-baiting. Teachers are a common target for cyber-baiting incidents.
Downloading a video of something humiliating and posting it to YouTube in order to allow a larger
audience to view the incident, sharing a video via mass e-mail or text messaging to humiliate and
embarrass the victim, using a camera phone to video and later share a bullying incident, which may
include one or more kids slapping, hitting, kicking or punching the victim etc.
14. 2.6 Other Subtle Methods
Posting tweets or Facebook posts that never mention the victim's name. Yet the victim, the bully and
often a larger audience know who the posts are referencing.
Using subtle posts and tweets to fuel the rumour mill while avoiding detection by teachers,
administrators, and parents.
E-mail Threats: The most aggressive form of cyber-bullying, threats make it explicit that physical or
social harm will come to the recipient unless they comply with a bully's demands.
Flaming: When people get into heightened or heated arguments in an online forum, flaming-
harassment and profanity taken to an extreme level in public- can occur.
Exclusion: Taking a page out of traditional bullying's book, exclusion depends on ostracizing a child
from events going on online. This can take the form of not "inviting" a child into a certain page or
chat-room, deleting a person's comments repeatedly so they are not heard, or just deliberately ignoring
a child's presence in the online community. When done maliciously, excluding a tween or teen in an
online context can lead to them feeling worthless or outside the group.
Outing: Outing is the act of making privately shared information (via emails, pictures, texts, or other
communication) public knowledge. For example, if one girl messages another girl regarding a crush,
and the recipient then forwards to message to the crush in question or other people who are not privy
to the information, that's outing. Outing is especially hurtful when done in the context of sexuality or
orientation, because it pushes teens out of the metaphorical closet before they are ready.
Phishing: One of the tactics used to create outing is phishing, or tricking teens into revealing personal
information to strangers or friends online through a series of lies or deceptive messages.
Masquerading: 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.
Denigration: Denigration is used in both classic and cyber bullying, denigration is a term used to
describe when cyber bullies send, post or publish cruel rumours, gossip and untrue statements about a
target child to intentionally damage their reputation or friendships. Also known as “dissing,” this
cyber bullying method is a common element and layer involved in most all of the cyber bullying
tactics listed.
Images and Videos: Briefly described in Happy Slapping, the usage of images and video recording
has become a growing concern that many communities, law enforcement agencies and schools are
taking seriously. Due in part to the prevalence and accessibility of camera cell phones, photographs
and videos of unsuspecting victims or the target child, taken in bathrooms, locker rooms or in other
compromising situations, are being distributed electronically. Some images and videos are emailed to
peers, while others are published on video sites.
E-mail and Cell Phone Image Dissemination: Not only a tactic used in cyber bullying, but a form of
information exchange that can be a criminal act if the images are pornographic or graphic enough
depicting under aged children. Children can receive images directly on their phones and then send
them to everyone in their address books. Of all cyber bullying methods, this tactic, which serves to
embarrass a target child, can lead to serious criminal charges.
15. 3. CAUSES OF CYBER BULLYING
3.1 Self-Loathing
One of the causes is people who have been bullied in the past want to do the same with others. When
these victims have experienced being bullied, they may seek revenge. By cyberbullying others, they
may feel better for themselves but that is just a temporary sense of relief.
3.2 Lack of Empathy
Another reason for cyber-harassment is people want to prove themselves and validate their popularity.
Most people who cyberbully believe it is not a big deal and do not see the pain that they cause. Instead
of empathizing with the victims being bullied, hurting others makes such people feel dominant.
3.3 Egotistic Tendencies
Some individuals would bully only to boost their egos. These individuals simply harass others to
entertain themselves and their friends who might also a bully for a high chance, not scared of getting
caught as these individuals believe they will not.
3.4 Insecurities
When it comes to school children bullying others, it is often rooted in perceptions of status.
Insecurities are a major factor in bullying and pupils often try to put their peers down to feel superior.
3.5 Peer Influence
Some do it because the people around them are doing it as well. It is said that kids see it as a trend. If
one does not do it, others who are doing it would think that the ones who are not doing it are
incompatible with them, another reason for them to bully the ones who are not doing it.
3.6 Personal Gain
Workplace bullying happens when an individual recognizes negative actions directed at him or her
from one or more persons, ongoing over at least 6 months, and when he/she has trouble defending
these actions.
16. 4. EFFECTS OF CYBER BULLYING
Cyber bullying affects people from any age or walk of life, including children, teens
and adults who all feel very distressed and alone when being bullied online. Cyber bullying can make
you feel totally overwhelmed which can result in many feeling embarrassed that they are going
through such a devastating time, and not knowing what support is available to
them. Many children feel unable to confide in an adult because they feel ashamed and wonder
whether they will be judged, told to ignore it or close their account which they might not want to
do. For many, cyber bullying affects their everyday lives and is a constant source of distress and
worry. With mobile technology being so freely available it is an ongoing issue and one that is
relentless. Not only does it go on after school, college or work has finished, but it then carries through
into the next day and the cycle continues. It has been well documented that cyber bullying has
resulted in tragic events including suicide, and self-harm and clearly, more needs to be done in order
to protect vulnerable children and adults from online bullying.
Victims of traditional bullying are often negatively impacted as a result of being victimized. For
example, some research has shown victims tend to be more isolated and less accepted by their peers,
as well as manifest more internalized psychosocial behaviours, such as depression, anxiety, and being
quiet or withdrawn Overall bullying via picture/video messaging was perceived as having a greater
impact than traditional bullying and other forms of cyberbullying. All other forms of cyberbullying
were reported as having an equivocal impact on its victims. Regardless of the form of technology used
to cyberbully, the impact on victims is substantial.
4.1 PHYSICAL EFFECTS
Victims of cyberbullying can have lasting emotional, concentration and behavioural issues. These
problems may bleed into their social lives, as they encounter more trouble getting along with others.
They experience trust issues and are more likely to abuse alcohol or drugs at an earlier age. Victims of
cyberbullying can develop dangerous stigmas, and experience harmful shame from their peers. They
report frequent headaches and stomach pain that are often associated with nervousness. They may also
turn to self-harm, including cutting or damaging their skin with razor blades. The stress of bullying
also can cause stress-related conditions like stomach ulcers and skin conditions. Additionally, kids
who are cyberbullied may experience changes in eating habits like skipping meals or binge eating.
And their sleep patterns may be impacted. They may suffer from insomnia, sleep more than usual or
experience nightmares. Cyberbullying increases the risk of suicide. Kids that are constantly tormented
by peers through text messages, instant messaging, social media, and other outlets, often begin to feel
hopeless. They may even begin to feel like the only way to escape the pain is through suicide. As a
result, they may fantasize about ending their life in order to escape their tormentors. Adolescent
victims were more likely to have behaviour problems, consume alcohol, smoke, and have low school
commitment than adolescent non-victims. Cyberbullying experienced in the workplace was typically
associated with negative physical health, negative emotional wellbeing, impacted social and family
relationships, as well as a reduction in staff morale, commitment, job satisfaction, and a breakdown of
work relationships.
17. 4.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Victims can suffer because of cyberbullying long after it ends. Being bullied can lead to a lifetime of
low self-esteem. This may cause chronic fatigue, insomnia and poor performance in school or at
work. Depression is not uncommon, with some victims feeling an overall sense of hopelessness and
worthlessness about their lives. Victims of cyberbullying often find it difficult to feel safe because
the bullying can invade their home through a computer or cell phone at any time of day, this can
escalate feelings of fear and affect the mental health of the kids. Also online bullying feels permanent
to kids because they know that once something is out there, it will always be out there. They feel
exposed, the nasty posts, messages or texts can be shared with multitudes of people which can lead to
intense feelings of humiliation. Cyberbullying often attacks victims where they are most vulnerable so
they may respond to these feelings by harming themselves in some way. Sometimes victims of
cyberbullying will get angry about what is happening to them. As a result, they plot revenge and
engage in retaliation. This approach is dangerous because it keeps them locked in the bully-victim
cycle. Also the kids lose interest in things they once enjoyed and spend less time interacting with
family and friends. And, in some cases, depression and thoughts of suicide can come in. Due to all
these torture they skip school to avoid facing the kids bullying them or because they are embarrassed
and humiliated by the messages that were shared. Victims of cyberbullying often succumb to anxiety,
depression and other stress-related conditions. This occurs primarily because cyberbullying erodes
their self-confidence and self-esteem. Additionally, the added stress of coping with cyberbullying on a
regular basis erodes their feelings of happiness and contentment. Nearly 20 percent of cyberbullying
victims report having suicidal thoughts, according to the Cyberbullying Research Centre. Several
high-profile suicides have been blamed on cyberbullying. These tragic events have led to increasing
attention on the issue, with prevention efforts becoming a priority. Research has shown that victims of
cyberbullying respond in a variety of ways, and at the very least, most showed an increase in
emotional distress. Typical responses to online victimization were found to include frustration, anger,
and sadness. Also being sad, hurt, anxious, embarrassed, afraid, and blaming oneself were common
emotional responses to victimization. Consciously avoiding the Internet, dwelling on the harassment,
feeling jumpy or irritable, and losing interest in things were also found to be common experiences
among cyberbullying victims.
FIGURE NO 5
18. 5. CASE STUDY
5.1 CYBER BULLYING IN SUSHANT SINGH RAJPUT SUICIDE CASE
The death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput on 14th June 2020 has emerged as one of the
biggest news stories in the country over the last couple of months. Despite the Mumbai Police initially
suggesting that Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide, some media outlets and politicians kept
demanding justice for the late actor, claiming that he was murdered. The topic was heavily discussed
on the Television media and soon it became a trending news on social media as well. Netizens started
posting their own opinions using some hashtags demanding justice for the late actor.
#AnilDeshmukhSavingSSRKillers (the home minister), #MahaGovtExposed #justiceforsushant
#sushantsinghrajput and #SSR were used as a tool to create a perception. This is where Cyberbullying
started in this case.
People and organisations who were abused on social media platforms:
5.1.1 Bollywood.
5.1.2 Mumbai police & Maharashtra Government.
5.1.3 Rhea Chakraborty.
5.1.1 Bollywood:
A debate surfaced on the internet that, not getting work in the film industry was the reason behind the
suicide. Allegations were made on many famous directors / producers for not giving opportunities to
outsiders in the film industry. Individual opinions posted by some celebrities added more fuel to this
argument. A perception got created in the media against a bunch of people. As a result Star kids were
seen as a culprit. They faced rage from people on social media platforms. Post demanding boycott of
the work of celebrity kids were shared on social media platforms. Memes (funny posts) defaming
them were circulated. An appeal to unfollow them was also made in these posts resulting in the drop
of their social media followers. This hatred was not limited to just one platform. Trailer of Movie -
Sadak 2 got 13 million dislikes on Youtube becoming second most disliked video on the platform.
The comment section on this video was filled with abuses and filthy language. Several bhojpuri video
songs disrespecting bollywood artists were posted on Youtube which went viral. Producer Karan
Johar, Director Mahesh Bhatt & Actress Alia Bhatt were heavily targeted in these songs.
Actress Rhea Chakraborty is being investigated in connection with the death of her boyfriend Sushant
Singh Rajput. TV hosts have described her as a "manipulative" woman who "performed black magic"
and "drove Sushant to suicide" on national television. In this matter, Actresses Vidya Balan, Taapsee
Pannu, Lakshmi Manchu and Meera Chopra used twitter to voice their opinion on Rhea Chakraborty
being vilified by sections of the television media. Very soon these celebrities became the new target
for the trolls.
19. 5.1.2 Mumbai Police & Maharashtra Government:
The investigation of this case was initiated by Mumbai Police. But in the course of time, a perception
was built against Mumbai Police & Maharashtra Government questioning their abilities to investigate
this case. A demand was made to hand over this case to CBI. Various hashtags were used to troll
Mumbai Police. Some of the hashtags were - #AnilDeshmukhSavingSSRKillers, #MahaGovtExposed
mainly throwing allegations on Maharashtra's Home minister Mr. Anil Deshmukh and Mumbai
Police.
Mumbai police have apparently identified over 80,000 fake accounts that were created on various
social media platforms. Social media posts with hashtags like #justiceforsushant and #SSR were
uploaded. These posts had origins from not only India but from countries like Italy, Japan, Poland,
Slovenia, Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand, Romania and France. Automated bots were regularly used.
Main motto was to inflate traffic surrounding these hashtags, a practice aimed at gaming Twitter‟s
trending topics. This fuelled more conspiracy theories over the social media platforms.
5.1.3 Rhea Chakraborty:
Rhea Chakraborty was the ex-girlfriend of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput and being prime suspect in
this case was heavily trolled over social media platforms. Several bhojpuri songs abusing Rhea were
uploaded on social media & got millions of views. Songs were full of filthy language and abuses. Not
only Rhea but filmmaker Karan Johar, Salman Khan, Mahesh Bhatt and Alia Bhatt too have been
targeted in these songs. A singer named Vikash Gop on YouTube, who runs a channel Vikas Gop
Entertainment, posted a song on Rhea called "Jo Sushant (Singh Rajput) bhaiya ke fan ha, woh is
gaane ko sune." Another singer named Ramjanam Yadav posted a similar song on YouTube, the song
has 64,609 views and around 2.9k likes. Comments on these videos were filled with hatred and filthy
language.
Rhea's Bengali origin was a new target for the trolls. Some trolls labelled Bengali women “gold
diggers” while others accused them of “practising black magic” and “dominating men”. The West
Bengal Commission for Women received complaint from an organization called Bongojoddha
(roughly translated as Bengal Warrior) regarding abuse of Bengali women on social media following
the death of Sushant Singh Rajput. The commission sought a report from Kolkata Police regarding the
alleged abuse of Bengali women on social media. "This is a worrying trend and specifically after the
Sushant Singh Rajput case. Just because a Bengali girl is under investigation, the popular perception
is that she has killed Sushant and thus all Bengali women are being trolled,” Leena Ganguly, the
chairperson of West Bengal Commission for Women (WBCW) told the media.Screenshots of private
chat of actress Rhea Chakraborty & her family members were leaked invading their privacy. New
allegations were made with reference to these chats. While the case is still under investigation, Rhea's
family was made to face humiliation. They were abused on social media platforms because of which
they had to face serious trauma.
20. 6. WAYS TO PREVENT CYBERBULLYING
6.1 TALK
Every psychologist will tell you that the best way to help your child or student is to have a
conversation first. Be patient and ask a child about the problem in general: what is cyberbullying,
does he/she know someone who is being bullied, what children should do if notice acts of bullying.
This way you will see how much your child is involved in the situation and which side he/she is on.
6.2 USE A CELEBRITY CARD
Modern children are the same as we used to be. They choose role models and follow them in every
way. Now they choose singers, sportsmen and actors. Nowadays, a lot of celebrities are supporting
cyberbullying victims. Many of them post numerous comments against online bulling on Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter. Demi Lovato Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus are the most
popular teen singers who talk about this problem out loud.
6.3 MONITOR ONLINE ACTIVITY
Luckily, cyberbullying has one advantage: you can notice it and save the evidence. If taking their
phone away is not an option, you can install iPhone monitoring app Pumpic. It allows monitoring
social media activity, including Facebook and Instagram, view all text messages (even deleted ones),
call logs and general online behaviour. You can block and control the child‟s phone remotely through
PC or personal cell phone.
6.4 ENGAGE PARENTS AND YOUTH
Create a community for adults and pupils to send a unified message against cyberbullying. Establish a
school safety committee that will control and discuss the problems of online bullying. You can create
policies and rules, including cyberbullying reporting system. It is important to make the main
objectives known to parents, school and children.
6.5 BUILD A POSITIVE CLIMATE
School staff can do a big deal to prevent cyberbullying. As a teacher you can use staff and parent
meetings and even send newsletters. Use your school website to create a page and forum, where
parents can discuss the problem. You can also engage bullies and victims by giving them mutual
tasks, so they can try to see each other from a different perspective.
6.6 VOLUNTEER IN THE COMMUNITY
As a parent, you can prevent bullying by working in the community. With your experience on the
ground, appropriate strategies can help identify the victims and redirect bullies‟ behaviour.
21. 6.7 RESTORE SELF RESPECT
Remember that the ultimate goal is to protect and restore the victim‟s self-respect. Act thoroughly;
fast decisions can only make things worse. Talk to someone about the problem before responding.
Collect the evidence and join with parents or teachers to find out the best possible choice to stop cyber
bullying among children.
22. 8. LAWS AND LEGAL ASPECTS
In India, there is no specific provision under any legislation to deal with the issue of cyberbullying.
However, there are various provisions in the existing laws which can be somehow be related to the
various forms of cyberbullying. Among other existing laws the role played by the Information
Technology Act however partial, is very significant. The IT act is enacted to primarily deal with
matters related to e-commerce which is evident form its preamble. However it has been interpreted by
the courts to deal in such cyber space issue relating to cyberbullying, cyber stalking etc.
The most important laws for cyber bullying are:
8.1 Section 507 IPC
According to section 507 of Indian Penal Code, whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation
by an anonymous communication, or having taken precaution to conceal the name or abode of the
person from whom the threat comes, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to two years, in addition to the punishment provided for the offence by the
last preceding section.
8.2 Section 509 IPC
509 word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. Whoever, intending to insult the
modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object,
intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such
woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for
a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.
8.3 Section 499 IPC
Whoever, by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations,
makes or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or knowing or having
reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said, except in the
cases hereinafter expected, to defame that person.
23. 7. STATISTICS
About 37% of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have been bullied online whereas, 30%
have had it happen more than once.
Girls are more likely than boys to be both victims and perpetrators of cyber bullying. 15% of teen
girls have been the target of at least four different kinds of abusive online behaviours, compared with
6% of boys.
About half of LGBTQ+ students experience online harassment -- a rate higher than average.
Instagram is the social media site where most young people report experiencing cyberbullying, with
42% of those surveyed experiencing harassment on the platform.
60% of young people have witnessed online bullying while more than 40% say they have become the
bullies‟ target
70% admit they have witnessed Cyberbullying whereas 50% of children admit to be scared of their
online bullies.
92% of cyberbullying attacks are held through chatting and commenting on social media websites.
Cyberbullying victims are 3 to 9 times more likely to consider committing suicide.
Only 1 in 10 teen victims will inform a parent or trusted adult of their abuse.
4 out of 5 students (81%) say, they would be more likely to intervene in instances of cyberbullying if
they could do it anonymously.
FIGURE NO 6
25. 8. CONCLUSION
The research we had collected had made us think about what we can do to stop bullying in schools
and in our localities. People, mainly teenagers, have trouble with cyberbullying and find it hard to
communicate with others about the problem they are facing. We decided that this needed to be
stopped. People are getting hurt and lives are being lost, they are also suffering long term effects such
as depression and anxiety.
To help this problem we have decided to either make the bullies informed about what they are doing
by setting up a website that people can upload their screenshots of a cyber-bully so that we can trace
the culprit and make that person stop, the down side is that people can get more hate by this.
This will require schools, and especially parents to be aware of the problem and act on it. Eliminating
cyberbullying will take a combined effort and won‟t be eliminated overnight. If the government is
willing to accept that cyberbullying is a problem, laws can be put in place to help discourage this
activity. Even still, parents and schools should eliminate and stop this behaviour then laws shouldn‟t
be necessary. So schools and parents must be aware of what kids are doing on the internet and their
phones, and act if they are doing something that they shouldn‟t be.
