Indian Kids Most Common Victims of Cyberbullying, Study Says

Indian kids are the most common victims of cyberbullying with India holding the record for having the most children falling prey to cyberbullying in 2018.

The survey, conducted by UK-based consumer tech review firm Comparitech in 28 countries, ranks India high in the list of countries with 37 percent parents reporting their kids being bullied, which has only increased over the years.

“Meanwhile, Indian parents remained among the highest to express confidence that their children were cyberbullied at least sometimes, a number that only grew from 2011 to 2018”, the study says.

The survey which was based on 20,793 interviews, conducted between March 23 – April 6, 2018, among adults aged 18-64 in the U.S. and Canada, and adults aged 16-64 in other countries shows that in Russia and Japan, parents expressed extremely high levels of confidence that their children did not experience any kind of cyberbullying.

After India, other countries that reported a higher number of cyberbullying are Brazil, the U.S., Belgium, and South Africa.

Referring to the growing span of the internet, the study says “the “faceless evil” of the internet is a growing threat for teens, specifically when it comes cyberbullying. Despite a more recent ramping up of awareness campaigns, cyberbullying facts and statistics indicate the problem is not going away anytime soon.”

According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, which has been collecting data on the subject since 2002, the number of cyberbullying among teens has doubled since 2007, up from just 18 percent. Though a different study conducted by Pew in 2007 suggested 32 percent teens falling victims to cyberbullying, the number has increased slightly.

Research presented at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting revealed the number of children admitted to hospitals for attempted suicide or expressing suicidal thoughts doubled between 2008 and 2015. Much of the rise is linked to an increase in cyberbullying, CNN reported. More teen suicides are also now attributed in some way to cyberbullying than ever before.

Among the top sources for cyberbullying, Facebook remains a common platform or through text messages. Further, 34 percent of students claimed to have been bullied online at least once in their lifetime. In a survey of parents and adults across Asia, 79 percent reported that either their child or a child they know had been threatened with physical harm while playing online games.

The website Nobullying.com recorded over 9.3 million visits in 2016 from people seeking help with bullying, cyberbullying and online safety.