Inside the mind of a cyber bully

The internet has become a vital part of our lives, specifically after the outbreak of COVID -19, most kinds of activities are done through the online medium. People are more connected than ever, thanks to the rapid and accessible advancement in technology. As you all are well aware, there are always two sides for everything; it depends on how one chooses to get the maximum benefit out of the platform. Social media has become so ingrained in society as well as in our daily lives that most activities that used to be done traditionally have been shifted to the online medium, be it shopping, tuition or even learning a new skill. It helps in getting anything and everything on our fingertips, it also paved way for crimes to take place in the virtual world. This article will examine the reason behind the act of bullying in the cyberspace by children and young adults.

Bullying in the Cyber World

Bullying is defined as an abuse and mistreatment of someone vulnerable by someone stronger, more powerful. It is an intentional behavior that hurts, harms, or humiliates a student, either physically or emotionally, and can happen anywhere be it in your own house, school, workplace or even in cyberspace. Though bullying is not a new phenomenon, the digital landscape has fundamentally transformed the way people are experiencing it. The notable characteristic is the accessibilityas these bullies have access to their victims, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Cyberbullying is 'any behavior performed through electronic or digital media by individuals or groups that repeatedly communicates hostile or aggressive messages intended to inflict harm or discomfort on others'[1]

As per a research conducted by a global cybersecurity company,Norton by Symantec, who surveyed over 1000 internet users across India, it was revealed that nearly 8 out of 10 individuals are subject to different types of cyberbullying in India. Out of these, around 63% faced online abuses and insults, and 59% were subject to false rumors and gossips for degrading their image.

This harassment is usually experienced by people under the age of 40. They tend to target the insecurities faced by the individual and try to take advantage of that particular fact to bring them down. Cyberbullying includes, but is not limited to, cyberstalking, masquerading, using offensive or dehumanizing language against someone; blackmail; 'outing' someone; threatening physical violence.Since the cyberspace is difficult platform to track, many victims feel helpless and are unable to report such actions of the bullies to parents or any authority.

Profile of the Cyberbully

Various research reports suggest that there have been numerous studies on the victims than that of bullies. The reason why such actions aredone by these online perpetratorsisinvestigated well. It is important to analyze the root cause of such actions as it will aid in preventing the acts of bullying in the future. One such research[2] discovered that, individuals who are cyberbullying are often victims of bullying themselves, and unable to strike back face to face, turn to cyberbullying where they can hide their identity behind the mask of secrecy where they feel protected.

The stereotypical traditional bully is normally the 'big' kid who terrorize the tiny ones as we see in the story of 'Matilda', but a cyberbully could be anyone as the person never really reveals their identity to the victims. Traditional bullying is generally characterized by strength and imbalance of power, meanwhile, none of this applies to cyberbullies. As the geographical barriers don't cause any hindrance, the bully could be from any part of the world harassing the victims, which makes law enforcement much more difficult in these cases. There are various instances in which victims themselves turn out to be bullies in retaliation.

In most cases, cyberbullies are themselves in psychological distress which induces them to transfer their distress into another person. Cyberbullies feel a lack of remorse and have more behavioral difficulties[3]. Another study[4]revealed that internet act as a very good medium for those students who are too shy to bully in 'real life' as their identity is not revealed and might not have to take responsibility of the consequences for their actions. Perhaps this could be the reason for that most cyber bullies are found with low self-esteem and are regularly introverts or underachievers, who often feel like a victim themselves and lack basic social skills. Hence, they use this medium to compensate for their lack of social life in the real world.

Why do they bully?

Cyberbullying creates both mental and emotional scars to both victims and bullies. As mentioned earlier, there are high chances that these bulliesexpress lack of understanding for themselves such that they possibly engagein one act of online bullying that quickly escalates and create an addiction over time. It was found that college students who cyberbullied others scored higher on a range of psychological measures includingdepression, paranoia, phobic anxiety and psychoticism when compared to individuals who did not.[5]

There are various theories as to why such acts take place, primarily among children and young adults. One such theory in Dark Psychology is that this study assumesaggressor child's purpose for their behavior, using Adlerian theory regarding 'need for acceptance', as a primary motivating force for their behavior. When the bullies perception moves into feeling dominant control over the victim without feeling remorse, these behaviors may blossom into serious aggressive and/or criminal behavior in adulthood if not taken care of.

Cyberbullies are divided into three types in the Cyberbully Triad; The first group are the Ignorant Cyberbullies, as the name suggests, their actions are without the knowledge that it causes harm or distress to others. They consist of a very small percentage and are inexperienced, immature and irresponsible.

Another group are the 'Righteous Cyberbully' who are aware of their actions and consequences, comprehends the fact that they cause distress in the mind of their target, but continues to do so because they believe the victim deserves their assaults. These feelings might arise due to some act (might be bullying or discrimination) the victims have done previously to the bully or has offended the belief system of the bully in an earlier event.

The last type is the most concerning and potentially dangerous group, the Narcissistic Cyberbully. They are those children engaged in cyberbullying with full knowledge of their actions, understand the distress they are causing the target child and continue their assaults motivated by sheer malicious intent. They are very dangerous to society as they have the potential to be future sociopaths, criminals and psychopaths, which victimize and inflict pain on others as adults, devoid of remorse.

*Michael Nuccitelli, Psy.D., Cyberbully Triad, and Three Types of Cyberbully, ipredator.

https://www.ipredator.co/michael-nuccitelli-cyberbullying/

The above pie chart indicates that the majority of the bullies (70%) belong under 'Righteous Cyberbully' group. And only 10% belong to 'Narcissistic Cyberbully' category and 20% in 'Ignorant Cyberbully group'.

Why do we need to focus on cyberbullying?

Primarily, cyberbullying is considered to be much more toxic than traditional bullying as, in traditional bullying, generally, there exists a aspect of physical appearance and the victim is aware of the bully. But when it comes to cyber bullying, the anonymity factor plays a huge role in some cases. Moreover, the audience for cyberbullying is much larger than that of traditional bullying encouraging the bully. Then, the advancement of technology is rising at a rapid speed and will continue to do in the coming years as well, hence there could be new forms of bullying taking place in these platforms. Finally, these bullies could turn out be criminals in future if not appropriately taken care of and the victims could turn to be bullies, resulting in a vicious cycle.

Anti-Cyber bullying Laws

Any kind of harassment done through the online medium is considered to be cyber crimes and the same is covered under the Information Technology Act,2000. Even though there exist loopholes and lack of clarity in certain areas, such as in case of revenge porn, following are the few provisions that deal with cyber-crimes.

The legislature needs to address the issue of cyber crimes as most victims refuse to report bullying is due to a lack of trust in the redressal mechanism. Forbes recently released an article stating that the Cybercrime in India has surged amidst the country's unprecedented coronavirus lockdown. As per the recent Reuters report ,attacks have soared 86% in the four weeks roughly between March and April. During this period, everyone is in the cyber space and is vital to make it safe and secured.

In a recent study undertaken by an NGO, Child Rights and You (CRY), titled 'Online Study and Internet Addiction', it was discovered that 22.4% of respondents (aged 13-18 years) who used the internet for longer than three hours a day were vulnerable to online bullying, while up to 28% of respondents who used the internet for more than four hours a day faced cyberbullying. And half of these cases go unreported.

Taking these studies into consideration, there needs to be a proactive step taken by the government to educate the need and importance to report such crimes, as it will help both victims and bullies to get the help needed.

Suggestions

The need to identify and provide adequate help to the cyberbully is equally important as in most cases they are children and young adults, who have the potential to commit heinous crimes, if not taken care of in the initial period. A study reveals that 23% of students reported that they've said or done something mean or cruel to another person online.[6]

To protect oneself from such bullies following are some suggestions :

• Try not to share personal details in the online media

• Reach out for help whenever you feel harassed or threatened, be it your parent, teachers or any authoritative figure

• Try to cut off the bully by blocking or reporting the user

• Ensure all the chats or comments by the bully are saved so it can be used as an evidence

Apart from the above-mentioned points, there must be open communication between the child and the parents. Home should be a safe place for them to rely on. Awareness about the cyber world and its misuse should be brought into the limelight through educational institutions as it is a foundation for the character development of the child. Police authorities as well should convey the legal implications to the younger generation so that they neither become the prey for such acts nor indulge in them.

Conclusion

One must be careful about the content being posted through social media. A post which you consider to be harmless might affect someone in your circle. Since crime rates are increasing in this medium, avoiding any such activity is essential as it affectsone's future and social standing. If anyone shares intimate details about their lives, do not use it to threaten or spread the same as this might lead to critical psychological trauma to that person. Various instances of such nature have occurred in the past which has even led to the loss of lives. Often acts you think might be fun and silly could be the reason that someone else experiences discomfort.

To conclude, all of us need to start being thoughtful about the profound and universal influence of the technological environment of cyberspace on the individual and society.The intention of this article is not to say that these bullies should escape consequences, there needs to be accountability for the acts undertaken by them but the way they are treated could help in sending a clear message to the society. We could either overlook their behavior and in turn leave them to commitharsher crimes, or we could rehabilitate them and show them to the right path.

Act responsible and Stay safe!

[1] R.S. Tokunaga Following you home from school: a critical review and synthesis of research on cyberbullying victimization,Comput. Hum. Behav., 26 (3) (2010), pp. 277-287, 10.1016/j.chb.2009.11.014

[2]Slonje, R., & Smith, P. (2008). Cyberbullying: Another main type of bullying?. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 49(1), 147–154.

[3]Online aggressor/targets, aggressors, and targets: a comparison of associated youth characteristics.Ybarra ML, Mitchell KJJ Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2004 Oct; 45(7):1308-16.

[4]F. Mishna, M. Saini, S. SolomonOngoing and online: Children and youth's perceptions of cyber bullyingChild Youth Serv. Rev., 31 (12) (2009), pp. 1222-1228, 10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.05.004

[5]A.M. Schenk, W.J. Fremouw, C.M. KeelanCharacteristics of college cyberbulliesComput. Human Behavior 29 (6) (2013), pp. 2320-2327, 10.1016/j.chb.2013.05.013

[6]'Cyberbullying: Dealing with Online Meanness, Cruelty, and Threats.' MediaSmarts. Accessed July 30, 2019,

http://mediasmarts.ca/sites/mediasmarts/files/pdfs/publication-report/summary/YCWWIII_Cyberbullying_ExecutiveSummary.pdf.