With easy access to
Internet and smart gadgets, a growing number of children in the country
today are falling prey to cyberbullying, security software firm Symantec
today said. However, more disturbing is the fact that a majority of
the parents don't feel their child is being bullied online. According
to a report by Norton (a Symantec brand), 52 per cent of the children
surveyed in India said they were victims of cybercrime and/or had online
negative situation. About 18 per cent said they had been bullied
online. However, 84 per cent of the parents surveyed in the country
said they did not feel that their child was being bullied online, The
Norton Report: Family Edition said. Cyberbullying refers to people
using electronic communication like emailing, social networking and
texting to harm others. Interestingly, 34 per cent of children surveyed
in India admitted to creating negative online experience for others.
Negative online experience refers to experience someone posting
private/intimate content without permission, being approached online in
an unwanted sexual way, online stalking or harassment, receiving SMS
text messages from unknown people asking to click on an embedded link or
receiving adult content. "Going online is a daily affair for many of
us -- not just adults but children too as they tackle schoolwork and
indulge in playtime on the Internet. With social media and the online
world continuing to infiltrate our lives and that of children,
cyberbullying remains a very real online danger due to the damaging
effect on people's mental health," Ritesh Chopra, Country Manager
(India) for Norton by Symantec told PTI. Also, with more and more
people using their mobile devices, there is more direct impact. "Unlike
offline forms of communication, these chats and messages are being
digitally stored and can be forwarded to someone other than the original
recipient, edited to distort the communication, and be published to
different places," he said. Once the communication is "out there," the
person has lost control of it, Chopra added. About 54 per cent of the
girls surveyed said they were victims of cybercrime or a negative online
situation. Also, 58 per cent girls said they were bullied online
during school year compared to 28 per cent boys who said they were
bullied in school year. The study, commissioned annually by Symantec,
surveyed 13,022 adults (aged 18 to 64) from 24 countries this year. This
includes Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Italy, Japan, the
UAE, the UK and the US.
In India, the survey was conducted with over 300 respondents (parents and kids) pan-India in tier I and tier II cities. "Many (parents) are unaware of whether their child is being harmed by cyberbullying or harming others and therefore unable to provide necessary support," Chopra said. While 70 per cent children surveyed did say they reached out to their parents when they experienced anything negative online, parents still need to educate themselves and provide confidence to their children to share their bad online experiences with them or another adult, he added. "Online safety requires a combination of online and offline tools and continuous dialogues between parents and children. With the online dangers getting more targeted and sophisticated, it is important to have the right security software in the background on all devices to assess the activities," Chopra said. Lastly, parents need to intervene personally to ensure social media use by their child is monitored regularly and educate them to make informed decisions about staying cautious and seeking help when dealing with cyberbullies, he added.
In India, the survey was conducted with over 300 respondents (parents and kids) pan-India in tier I and tier II cities. "Many (parents) are unaware of whether their child is being harmed by cyberbullying or harming others and therefore unable to provide necessary support," Chopra said. While 70 per cent children surveyed did say they reached out to their parents when they experienced anything negative online, parents still need to educate themselves and provide confidence to their children to share their bad online experiences with them or another adult, he added. "Online safety requires a combination of online and offline tools and continuous dialogues between parents and children. With the online dangers getting more targeted and sophisticated, it is important to have the right security software in the background on all devices to assess the activities," Chopra said. Lastly, parents need to intervene personally to ensure social media use by their child is monitored regularly and educate them to make informed decisions about staying cautious and seeking help when dealing with cyberbullies, he added.
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