– SHREYA SHARMA

Introduction

 

Cyberbullying during COVID 19 has become very common. Children across the world suffering to cyberbullying during the pandemic. There are many cases which affected the mental health of the victims of the cyberbullying crime. India is one of the top three countries which has the highest rate of cyberbullying. Second is Brazil and then The United States. But this is a common happening everywhere.

Cyberbullying does not only affects the person emotionally but also it generates fear, anxiety, depressed and increases negative feelings inside. Some usual forms of cyberbullying includes mobile phones (bullying by phone calls, text messages, picture/video clip) or using the internet (bullying by emails, chat room, through speedy messaging and via websites, including blogs)Cyberbullying is a criminal offence and a person who is a victim of this crime can lodge a complaint against this.

Section 67 of it act states that Whoever publishes or transfers or causes to be published or transferred in the electronic form any material which contains sexually the explicit act or conduct shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to ten lakh.

 

Motives behind cyberbullying in view of COVID 19

 1. Revenge

The victims who have faced cyberbullying think that others should also feel the same pain what they have felt and those victims feel justified in their actions because they too have been harassed. People can easily take advantage of the COVID 19 because these days online platforms are the only way to get connected with everyone and everything. Bullies too think that during this pandemic victims will not be able to take action against them and so they are freely doing the crime.

2. Jealousy

Cyberbullying often spins around a person’s social status. Seeing other people financially strong and Socially good make the bullies feel jealous and so they do this crime.

3. Bored during the lockdown

Bullies who are bored and looking for an entertainment and to add some drama in their life will eventually do this crime.

 

Case laws

 1. Name of the case – Ashlynn conner

      Ashlynn conner was a ten-year-old girl who got bullied so much in school that she begged her mom to homeschool her but her mother denied. The bullying continued at home too through social media and indecent words used for her like fat, ugly and then people also started calling her slut when she wasn’t even able to understand that word. When she just to feel good and get out of all these get a hair cut then she was called “pretty boy”. This cyberbullying led the life of someone to an end. Her sister was the one who found her hanging in her closet by a scarf.

  2. Name of the case – Hailee Lamberth

      This is the case of a 13-year-old girl who took her life due to cyberbullying. Firstly her classmates start bullying her in school and then it continued on online platforms and forums too. They’d always tell herself to kill herself because of her condition. At one point, a classmate sent her a voicemail saying “I thought you’ve died. Hailee couldn’t tolerate the bullying anymore and killed herself.

3. Name of the case – David Molak

      David was a nice guy and had a good looking girlfriend too but that didn’t stop him from being the victim of cyberbullying. Bullies at his school keep sending him an abusive message which led him to suffer from severe depression. He was a guy who loved to go out and party but then suddenly everything changed due to the bullies which lost his interest in everything and he was 15 years old when he hung himself in his backyard to avoid the bullying.

 

Suggestion

 

In this unprecedented time children are all stuck at home, the risk is high of becoming a cyberbullying victim. So everyone should take proper care of their phones or every electronic device through which there are chances of getting bullied. Parents should be aware of cyberbullying and take some time to talk and let their children aware of what site they should visit and what they shouldn’t. They should timely check the phones of their children that where they are updated version or not. Parents should also check if their children are becoming a cyberbully then what they should do. To cure this problem there should be a website which cannot let bullies do any cyberbullying. Also, there are certain ways by which one can try to avoid cyberbullying:

1. Don’t post anything that is very private.

2. Never message any stranger.

3. Never respond to any angry comments or texts with anger.

4. Always be aware of the bullies.

5. Make your friends and family aware of cyberbullying cases.

6. Don’t forward chain emails, message or long emails.

7. Stay away from the people who you think can do cyberbullying.

 

Conclusion

 In this COVID 19 situation people have time to adapt and work on necessary change which should take place to prevent cyberbullying. As technology continuously increasing at a large scale and becoming an essential part of our daily lives, and the lives of children, it is necessary to identify the dangers of cyberbullying and to take definite steps to get rid of this.

Every individual must work together to make the internet a safer place for all. Children should be educated enough on what to do and what to go for which can encounter cyberbully. Cyberbullying is a serious issue which cannot be avoided like anything, it can have long term effects on its victims.

COVID 19 should be used as a crucial time in which people should take out their time from their daily lives to adapt necessary changes for this cyberbullying.