The Synopsis
The internet has revolutionized the world, and India stands as one of the prime examples of how a country
can leverage digital connectivity to drive social, economic, and political change. Our Country has one of the
largest and fastest-growing internet user bases in the world, with over 800 million users as of 2023. The
spread of affordable smartphones and data plans has been a key driver of this growth. India's engagement
with the digital world has not only transformed its own society but has also had significant global
implications.
Economic Transformation through Digital Connectivity
The economic impact of the internet in India has been profound. The rise of e-commerce platforms like
Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal has transformed the way Indians shop, bringing the convenience of online
shopping to the masses. The digital payment ecosystem has also flourished, driven by the government’s
push for a cashless economy post-2016 demonetization, and facilitated by platforms like Paytm, Google Pay,
and UPI (Unified Payments Interface).
Moreover, the internet has given rise to a vibrant start-up culture in India, with tech hubs like Bangalore and
Hyderabad emerging as global centers of innovation. Indian startups, particularly in fintech, edtech, and e-
commerce, have attracted significant global investment, positioning India as a key player in the global digital
economy.
The gig economy, powered by internet platforms like Uber, Zomato, and Swiggy, has also seen tremendous
growth, providing flexible work opportunities to millions.
Social and Cultural Impact of the Internet
The internet has also brought about significant social and cultural changes in India. Social media platforms
like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have become integral to how Indians communicate, share
information, and engage in public discourse. These platforms have empowered citizens by giving them a
voice in political and social matters, but they have also been sources of misinformation, fake news, and
online harassment.
Education has been another area transformed by the internet. Online learning platforms have expanded
access to education, allowing students from all corners of the country to learn from top educators and
institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated this trend, with schools and universities shifting to
online modes of instruction. However, the digital divide has highlighted inequalities in access to education,
particularly in rural areas.
The entertainment industry has also seen a digital revolution, with streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon
Prime Video, and Hotstar changing the way Indians consume content. The rise of web series and on-
demand viewing has led to a decline in traditional television viewership and has opened up new
opportunities for creators to reach global audiences.
Governance, Policy, and the Internet
India’s government has played a crucial role in shaping the country’s digital landscape. The Digital India
initiative, launched in 2015, aims to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge
economy. This includes improving online infrastructure, increasing internet connectivity in rural areas, and
promoting digital literacy.
E-governance has been another significant area of development, with projects like Aadhaar, India’s
biometric ID system, linking millions of citizens to various government services, including banking, welfare,
and taxation. However, these initiatives have also raised concerns about privacy, data security, and the
potential for government surveillance.
Since its inception, the internet has grown exponentially, reshaping societies and economies worldwide. But
with this growing economy, has also come, various challenges and concerns. Some of them are as follows:
1. Privacy and security: The proliferation of personal data online raises major privacy concerns.
2. Misinformation and Fake news: The ease of publishing has led to the spread of misinformation and
fake news
3. Digital Divide: The internet has created a societal divide between classes who can access the
internet and who cannot.
4. Addiction and Mental Health issues: The internet is a highly addictive platform especially the social
media platforms, online games and streaming services. Extensive addiction causes anxiety,
depression and social isolation
5. Negative Impact on Relationships: Excessive exposure to internet affects personal relationships as
individuals prioritize virtual communications over face-to-face relationships.
6. Economic Disruption: While the internet has created new industries, it has also disrupted
traditional businesses and jobs, leading to unemployment in certain sectors. For example, the rise
of e-commerce has led to the decline of brick-and-mortar stores.
7. Environmental Impact: The infrastructure required to support the internet, such as data centers and
electronic devices, consumes significant amounts of energy and resources, contributing to
environmental degradation.
8. Cyberbullying and Online Harassment: The anonymity provided by the internet can lead to
increased instances of cyberbullying and harassment. This can cause significant emotional and
psychological harm, especially to younger users.
With the mentioned challenges and concerns caused by the presence and usage of the internet by the
various age groups of the society, I would like to limit my study to the causes, effects and solutions
related to cyberbullying of teenagers and youth
Introduction
India is one of the fastest-growing digital consumers’ markets in the world, representing 700 million
internet users while preparing to connect another 500 million. Improvement in connectivity, lowering
costs of user-end devices as a part of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”, increasing use cases since 2014 led by the
government through the creation of digital public assets and digital public infrastructure, and a robust
start-up ecosystem has put India on the fast track in digital economy creation.
There were 751.5 million internet users in India in January 2024.
Before we understand the problem of cyberbullying, we need to understand the extent of the problem
by understanding the age groups who are using Internet in India
Source: www.grabon .in
The above statistics shows that almost 19% of the internet users falls under the age group of 12-17 years
which is the phase we refer to as the Teenage years and 14% fall under the age group of 18-34 years
which we refer to as the youth.
A survey made by IGPP (Institute of Governance, Policies and Politics), SMM ( Social Media Matters) and
YOLO (Youth Online Learning Organization), during June- July 2020 gives us the following output
With more and more people adding up to this ever growing number of internet users in the country,
they are being exposed to the big unknown virtual world very easily especially the children, teenager
and the youth. With it, especially for children and adolescents who contribute a significant number of
users, came new challenges of online child exploitation.
There has been a noticeable rise in cyberbullying in India since the Covid-19 epidemic. Cyberbullying has
increased by many folds in India with the swift adaption on the digital technology and emergence of
digital communication platforms, particularly with the expansion of online learning, remote working,
and social media usage. People had to stay indoors and extensively rely on digital communication
networks during the lockdown measures followed after the onset of the pandemic.
India has the highest rate of cyberbullying worldwide, at over 85% of children reporting it. The poll has
also found that Indian children reported cyberbullying someone twice as often as children worldwide. In
India, 46% of children reported cyberbullying a stranger, compared to 17% globally, while 48% reported
cyberbullying they know, compared to 21% of children in other nations. Spreading false rumours (39%),
being excluded from chats or groups (35%), and name-calling (34 per cent) were the top three types of
cyberbullying reported in India.
According to NCRB 2020, total 50,035 cases of cybercrime were registered. NCRB data reported that
cybercrimes in India have increased by 63.48% (27248 cases to 44548 cases) from 2018 to 2019 and
44548 cases to 50035 cases, which upsurged by 12.32% in 2020. Among these registered cases, 1614
cases were of cyberstalking, 762 cases were of cyber blackmailing, 84 cases of defamation, 247 cases of
fake profiles, and 838 cases were of fake news . And according to Indian parents about 42% of children
have been the target of racist cyberbullying, 36% have faced extreme forms of cyberbullying reported
besides racism including trolling, 29% have faced personal attacks, 30% have been sexual harassment,
28% got the threat of personal harm and Doxing (23%)
Cyberbullying- a definition
Cyberbullying is the use of information technology to repeatedly harm or harass other people in a
deliberate manner. According to U.S. Legal Definitions, “Cyber-bullying could be limited to posting
rumours or gossip about a person in the internet bringing about hatred in other’s minds or it may go to
the extent of personally identifying victims and publishing materials severely defaming and humiliating
them”.
Cyberbullying- Forms and case study
The various forms of cyberbullying are defined in the list below:
1. Exclusion
Exclusion is the deliberate exclusion of someone. Exclusion is a factor in both online
bullying and physical bullying scenarios where a victim is targeted. For example: a child
may be left out of message threads or chats with people they both know while other
friends are invited or involved in groups
2. Harassment
This term refers to a constant pattern of sending hurtful or threatening messages through
online mediums with the intention of doing harm or creating psychological pressure.
3. Outing/Doxing
The act of openly revealing sensitive or personal information about someone without their
consent with the objective of embarrassing or humiliating them is termed as Doxing.
4. Trickery
In this type of cyber bullying, the bully develops cordial relationship with the victim and
creates a sense of security first and ones the trust is gained, then he / she is threatened by
the bully for the leakage of personal information or sensitive pictures to the third party.
5. Cyberstalking
It is the recurrent contact and harassment of someone through technology, such as social
media, emails, and text messages, making them fear for their safety.
6. Fraping
Frapping is when a bully posts offensive stuff using the name of your child on social media.
When friends publish amusing things to each other's profiles, it can be innocent but also
extremely dangerous.
7. Masquerading
Masquerading occurs when a bully creates a false online identity or profile with the intent
to bully someone online. This can entail choosing a new identity and set of images to
deceive the victim, as well as creating a false email account and social media presence. In
these situations, the bully is frequently someone the victim knows well.
8. Dissing
Dissing refers to the act of a bully spreading cruel information about their target through
public posts or private messages to either ruin their reputation or relationships with other
people. In these situations, the bully tends to have a personal relationship with the victim,
either as an acquaintance or as a friend.
9. Trolling
Trolling is when a bully will seek out to intentionally upset others by posting inflammatory
comments online. Trolling may not always be a form of cyberbullying, but it can be used as
a tool to cyberbully when done with malicious and harmful intent.
10.Flaming
Flaming or roasting is the act of using abusive language or using profanity to publish insults
online. This phrase shouldn't be confused with trolling, which refers to the behaviour of
someone who stirs up conflict offline or online.
Case Study 1
Exclusion from the class was very manageable for 14 years old; Tanvi (Name Changed) till it was
only limited to the schooling hours and in the classroom. But then it extended to being excluded on
social media – WhatsApp groups. It started affecting her self-confidence and ability to cope with
exclusion.
She started withdrawing herself from all social activities. She didn’t feel like talking to anyone.
Anger became her only expression & emotion for her family.
It took 2 -4 months of regular counselling work to get the bubbly, happy & confident Tanvi back,
who became victim of Bullying & Cyberbullying by her few classmates who excluded her & made
fun of her on social media for her physical appearance.
Case Study 2
27 years old Manish (Name changed) was on the verge of break down when he reached out for
help.
Manish, who was working in another country away from home & family, found a friend on
Facebook who he could trust, until one morning when he woke to a message on FB messenger with
his own video attachment (from prev. nights video call with his FB friend), thereafter followed by an
extortion message stating “pay up XXX amount if you do not want this video going viral & in your
family’s message box.”
He was in extreme shock & fear as he had all his relationships marled on FB (Ex: mom, dad, uncle,
aunt etc.) and his FB profile/friend list was also public.
He realised he had fallen victim to honey trapping & sextortion. Offenders kept bullying & harassing
him with sending sextortion messages from different ids & numbers.
Cyberbullying- Causes and effects
Causes of Cyber Bullying:
Lack of parental control over children's computer and internet use.
Insufficient computer or internet experience
Distinctions in race, culture, or religion between the offender and victim
Both bullies and victims have low self-esteem.
Lack of understanding of proper internet behaviour
Among the effects caused by cyberbullying, the following stand out:
Physical: Headaches, stomach aches, restless nights, fatigue, backaches, lack of appetite, issues
with digestion, etc.
Emotional and psychological: Fear, including emotions of panic, tension, worry, sorrow, melancholy,
and depression symptoms, as well as more frequent suicidal thoughts
School-related: One impact of cyberbullying is a lack of motivation for learning, which results in
issues with academic achievement.
Psychosocial: Increased emotions of loneliness, ostracism, and perhaps social rejection.
These impacts are especially detrimental because they target the social centre of the person, which
includes psychological needs like identity, belonging, and self-esteem.
Conclusion
Cyber bullying has an impact on every aspect of society. Following are the proposals which can be taken up
1. Campaigns, laws, administrative initiatives in schools, and other activities
to identify and eliminate cyber bullying
2. Promoting the wise use of technology will produce positive outcomes.
3. The bully needs be blocked and formally reported to the social media
platform.
4. Social media platforms should take up the responsibility to protect their
users
5. It is important that screenshots of conversations, text messages and social
media posts be collected and submitted to the social media platform and
the cybercrime cell.
6. All users should be aware of the technique of upgrading their privacy on
the social media and should be aware as to when and how to deactivate
their account.
7. Schools should develop programs to impart education as to the dos and
donts on the social media
8. Parents should have control over the pattern of usage of the internet by
the teenagers.
9. Encouraging parents to get their children counselled on a regular basis for
the increased screen time and their venture into the unknown virtual
world.
