Today’s teens’ lives are dominated by technology. Indian high school teenagers are becoming more accustomed to the digital world, including smartphones, smart devices, and social networking websites. Indian Teenagers nowadays have many alternatives, but the shift to digital technology has also made them vulnerable to myriad cybersecurity concerns. Bullying and Cyberbullying among teenagers are among the most alarming issues that many countries worldwide face, particularly among young Indian people. 

According to reports, the top three countries where parents reported the most cyberbullying are India at 38%, Brazil at 29%, and the U.S. at 26%. Because of the extensive availability of digital devices with high-speed internet, bullying, and other online offenders can now undertake various identities while remaining nameless, giving them the liberty to harm many social media users, particularly youngsters.

How come this happens among Indian teenagers?

The leading causes of cyberbullying are appearance, race, sexual orientation, wealth, religion, and intellectual aptitude. However, there are numerous more reasons why Indian teenagers experience cyberbullying.

Teenagers who are frightened typically want reprisal rather than treating the state coolly and coming to a resolution. These bullies frequently justify their behavior by claiming it is retribution for the trauma they experienced. It is charming that numerous incidents occur when tyrants are bored and agree to cyberbully others for fun.

Peer stress is a significant additional component producing cyberbullying. Teenagers try to intimidate people in these circumstances to fit in with a friend group. They frequently get inspired to imitate what individuals around them are doing, so they do the same. As a way to assert their power over others and to project their social position, power-hungry youth may also engage in cyberbullying. Google did a survey among teachers in 2019 and this was the conclusion “cyberbullying is the number one safety concern in their classrooms”

Steps to take to prevent cyberbullying

• Try to be straightforward and honest with your child. Youths naturally don’t account for cyberbullying themselves. Therefore, if you notice any of the warnings, talking directly to the youngster may encourage him to speak up and help you handle the situation better.
• Don’t wholly ban your kid from using the internet. This could discourage the child from alerting you if another incidence of cyberbullying happens, which could have negative consequences.
• Remind your child not to seek retribution and explain that doing so can exacerbate the problem and further the objectives of the cyberbully. Check the learning session in which Crispmind’s Teen Behaviour Coach – Aakanksha Awasthiedit talks about “How should you communicate with your teen” 
• Teach your children to keep track of any cyber incidents they experience. Encourage children to remember URLs, take screenshots of the messages, and do other actions that will be helpful if they need to report the incident to their parents, the school administration, or even the police.

If you are a student, you can be proactive in preventing or handling such incidents by attempting the following measures.

• First and foremost, you should avoid liking or commenting on any social media post that disparages another individual or encourages online bullying. You might be the one who’s indirectly responsible for these behaviors.
• Do not be ashamed to tell your parents or close friends if you have such an encounter. If you do this, you can better negate the circumstance.
• On many websites today, you may report cyberbullying. When such a report is verified, they go after the bullies in court.
  

Bottom line:

Finally, it is encouraging to see more Indian individuals becoming aware of the threat of teenage cyberbullying. You can eliminate this threat in the long term with properly targeted efforts toward cybersecurity and digital literacy