A Case Study on Cyberbullying rising among the Children

Three out of 10 parents in India say their children have been victims of cyberbullying and a majority of them through social networking sites like Facebook, according to an online global poll released on Wednesday. The survey done by Ipsos - a global market research company - found that 45% of Indian parents believed a child in their community was being cyberbullied while a majority (53%) parents are aware of the issue. Cyberbullying is when a child or group of children - under the age of 18 - intentionally intimidate, offend, threaten or embarrass another child or group of kids specifically through the use of information technology, such as a website or chat room on internet, a cellular telephone or another mobile device. The poll surveyed 18,000 adults in 24 countries, 6,500 of whom were parents. It showed the most widely reported vehicle for cyberbullying was social networking sites like Facebook, which 60% cited. Globally, mobile devices and online chat rooms were a distant second and third, each around 40%. In India, it is evenly split between social networking sites (55%) and online chat rooms (54%). "The findings are quite surprising, which revealed that the frequency of cyberbullying in India was higher than that of western nations, including the US (15%), Britain (11%) and France (5%). Prior to this survey, there has been little evidence to suggest cyberbullying is a major issue in the country," said Biswarup Banerjee, head - marketing communications, Ipsos in India. "The key to this study is that it measures parental awareness of cyberbullying, not actual rates of the behaviour. While we can't speculate on what actually happens, it is quite possible that the proportion of children actually being cyberbullied is, in fact, understated, since we are speaking with the parents, not the kids," he said. A strong majority (77%) of global citizens say cyberbullying is a fundamentally different type of bullying that needs special attention from parents and schools, in addition to existing efforts to address bullying in general.

A Casestudy on Facebook responsible for Breakups and Divorces

A growing number of marriage break-ups are being blamed on Facebook as love cheats are caught online. Lawyer Emma Patel has revealed that EVERY divorce she has dealt with in the past nine months has involved the social network website. Married couples meet other users online and send 'flirty messages' or have 'inappropriate suggestive chats' which spouses can use in divorce cases. Sites like Facebook, Twitter are tempting couples to cheat on each other. Ms Patel, the head of family law at Hart Scales & Hodges Solicitors, in Dorking, Surrey, said that she had dealt with 30 divorces since May last year - and all involved Facebook. She claimed the site acted a 'virtual third party' in break-ups. 'Suspicious spouses have used these to spy and find evidence of flirting and even affairs, which have then led to break-ups'. The lawyer said that she urged all clients to 'stay off' Facebook during divorce proceedings - as it could throw a spanner in the works of it going smoothly - especially if they post photos of new lovers. She added: 'They feel compelled to share their feelings online, and, in some cases, they not only express their stress, but also make inflammatory accusations against their partner. 'Divorce is a highly-charged and emotional time, but it is vital not to turn the situation into a public slagging match, played out for everyone to see online. James Wrigley, 34, of Hackney, east London, said: 'My girlfriend left me after finding out I had been sending Facebook messages to a girl at work. 'She got my password and read the messages and that was the end of that - four years together down the drain, but at least we hadn't got married.'