Cyber Bystander's Effect on Cyberbullying in India

Abstract

In particular, in the twenty-first century, the advancement of electronic information technology and the associated ease of access to it have increased the frequency of instances of cyberbullying. Governments and other concerned authorities are still finding it difficult to deal with such a widespread problem. The pandemic has changed the character of everyday living activities in the technology world and increased the use of digital gadgets at an unprecedented rate. Over the past two decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of teenagers utilizing the internet to communicate, which has increased the risk of cyberbullying. In view of this worrying circumstance, this paper aims to study the concept of cyberbullying through the lens of cyber bystanders in an anonymous environment. The paper also tries to analyze the role of bystanders and upstanders and their effect on cyberbullying of female students in Indian higher education in India. The finding of the study shows that overall, 25.33 percent of the female students responded positively while commenting on the presence of cyberbullying as a problematic issue in the universities due to which many victims suffer a psychological breakdown. The findings from the primary data also suggest that overall 36.86 percent of the female students are also observed to be very active bystanders in stopping cyberbullying directly by engaging with the perpetrators.

Keywords: Gender Studies, Human computer interface, 21st century abilities