A whopping 85% of children in India have reported being cyberbullied as well as having cyberbullied someone, according to a report released by computer security soft-ware company McAfee.
The India-centric findings are part of company’s global report titled ‘Cyberbullying in Plain Sight,’ a 10-country survey. It was conducted between June 15 and July 5, covering 11,687 parents and their children.
McAfee also claimed that the survey uncovered a startling fact – that many children take part in cyberbullying often without realizing their behavior for what it is, while parents struggle to keep up.
“Cyberbullying in India reaches alarming highs as more than 1 in 3 kids face cyber racism, sexual harassment, and threats of physical harm as early as at the age of 10 – making India the number 1 nation for reported cyberbullying in the world,” McAfee Chief Product Officer Gagan Singh said in the report.
It further said that children in India witness and experience the maximum cyber-bullying on almost every social media and messaging platform.
“85% of Indian children reported being cyberbullied as well as having cyberbullied someone else at rates well over twice the international average,” the report said.
Further, 45% of these children said they hide their cyber bullying experiences from parents, perhaps due to the relative absence of conversation.
In a release, McAfee explained the methodology it adopted for the survey, which was conducted in association with market research company MSI-ACI. The parents of children in the age group 10 and 18 were invited through e-mail to fill an online questionnaire.
The parents were first asked if their children were available to complete a survey. If yes, the parent was asked to complete a few questions themselves before turning over the survey to their child.
The 10 countries where survey was conducted are: United States, United King-dom, France, Germany, Australia, India, Canada, Japan, Brazil and Mexico.
Around 85% children in India have reported being cyberbullied and it is the highest in the world, according to a new survey released by global computer security firm McAfee Corp Monday.
Titled ‘Cyberbullying in Plain Sight’, the report is based on a 10-country survey to uncover new and “consequential trends” regarding cyberbullying.
The survey also noted that the number of Indian children reported to have cyberbullied someone is also twice the international average. Around 45% children in India said they cyberbullied a stranger, compared to 17% worldwide and 48% said they cyber-bullied someone they know, versus 21% of kids in other countries.
The top three forms of cyberbullying reported in India were spreading false rumours (39%), being excluded from groups or conversations (35%) and name calling (34%).