Cyberbullying: The Dark Side of Social Media

The world we live in is now neatly divided into two realms: the real and the virtual. In recent times, the virtual world appears to be slowly, but markedly, overtaking the real one. Human interactions, be they personal, social or political, are shifting their domains. Opinions are voiced in 240 characters or less; popularity and adulation are counted in retweets and likes; everything is gauged from ratings and reviews. Love and affection are found in chats, website comments and messages. So are hate, derision and insecurities. The internet, unlike the ephemeral human memory of the real world, never forgets. The anxiety associated with the permanency of hate and sorrow is becoming a major psychological issue among people, especially teenagers. Cyberbullying as a phenomenon, especially among young adolescents and teenagers, needs to be addressed distinctively from other aspects of the cyberworld and the internet. The Research Cell of the Delhi Metropolitan Education has undertaken an extensive study, including a survey based research, to unpack the issue of cyberbullying and its effects on the social and psychological aspects of people, especially Indian teenagers. Cyberbullying: The Dark Side of Social Media tries to map the sociolegal response to cyberbullying in an Indian framework.