Cyberbullies on the prowl

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He thought it was funny. She was upset and refused to go to school. Having a post on your Facebook wall that calls you ‘fat’ and ‘humpty dumpty’, and your schoolmates ‘liking’ the comment, made fifteen-year-old Deepika A (name changed on request) miserable.

Today, bullying is no longer confined to the playgrounds of schools and corridors of colleges. It has in fact, moved online. Cyberbullying takes various forms; SMS, e-mail and social networking are being used to target people. However, it looks like school kids are more prone to be the butt of bullies’ jokes.
Shanthi S, a mother of two teenagers, says, “I have always taught my kids to treat everyone with respect but peer pressure can sometimes lead to such things. I do try and monitor what my kids do online and ensure they use the net for not more than two hours a day.”
Cyberbullying also allows kids to post comments or create groups anonymously. “Sometimes we don’t know who is bullying us and it’s annoying,” says seventeen-year-old Nisha who was receiving e-mails from an unknown sender. She finally realised it was an April fools’ joke by one of her friends but the experience, she says, was not a pleasant one.
Psychologist Raghu T. explains that being the target of cyberbullying could lead to low self-confidence and depression. “Kids often don’t discuss such issues with their parents. This can cause psychological trauma and they can even start shying away from company, turning them into loners. Their studies can also be affected as a result,” he adds.
Second year college student Jaishree Rao explains how a hate group was started against one of their collegemates on Facebook and they rallied together and ensured it was taken off immediately.
She says, “I think the person didn’t realise how mean they were being even if was meant as a joke. I believe it’s important for us to help friends out,”
Her word of advice to kids is that if you find something disturbing online, you can always report it. “And if you know the person, then send them a message directly and tell them to remove the comment or group immediately,” she adds.

Age Correspondent