"Bullying may seem as a small issue but it follows the same pattern as hatred, intolerance or even ho"
Bullying is an intentional, repeated and targeted action that aims to hurt, harm or humiliate a person/ victim either physically, mentally or emotionally and can happen at any place. Bullying using electronic means, media and the internet is known as cyberbullying. In today’s world cyberspace/ internet has become an integrated part of our life and cyberbullying cannot be considered as a separate entity as both the online and offline spaces has merged and become one. Bullying may seem as a small issue but it follows the same pattern as hatred, intolerance or even homicide that treats victims as inferior beings and taking pleasure from others suffering. Posting, sending or sharing negative comment/ content which may contain text, picture, troll and videos in mails, SMS or in social media which provide online chatting platforms and over the gaming sites and websites all over the internet that is harmful or mean defines cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is not limited to any specific age groups however adolescents are more prone to it because they use the internet and electronic devices more often. Being said that not all negative interactions are episodes of cyberbullying to be cyberbullying it must be repeated with intent to harm or humiliate. Single episodes of aggression, intimidation, mutual arguments, disagreement or fights do not fit the definition of cyberbullying because to be bullying and one must be repeatedly doing them. A survey in Nepal “The Internet and Sexual Expression” found out that 85% of the respondents of survey were being bullied over the internet and 55% of the participants have witnessed someone else being bullied over the internet. The Cyberbullying is an issue of concern because it has a greater psychological impact on those who are being bullied. The effects of the cyberbullying is worse than the traditional bullying causing psychological trauma , in some cases the victims of the cyberbullying have taken their lives. Nearly 20 percent of cyberbullying victims reported having suicidal thoughts according to Cyberbullying Research Center. According to WebMD, victims of cyberbullying can have lasting emotional, concentration and behavioral issues. Bullying leads to lower self-esteem and trust issues that hampers normal socialization. Victims of the cyberbullying may experience helplessness, worthlessness and hopelessness. Unfortunately the long term effects of cyberbullying can be life threatening. Cyberbullying is more damaging because the victims are not able to escape from it. Furthermore the bullies remains anonymous that adds up power differential. There is absence of the emotional response from the victim in cyberbullying this adds up the problem and reduces the possibility of inhibition of bullying behavior. The major law governing information technology, cybercrime and similar matters in Nepal is Electronic Transaction Act (ETA), 2063 (2008). Cyberbullying can be reduced by contentious supervision and regulation of the ETA. In order to reduce the instances of cyberbullying in Nepal safer inter usage and browsing should be taught to school aged children as they are more prone to bullying. Similarly the proper parenting regarding the parental control of internet and environment in family to talk about the issues/instances of bullying can greatly relieve the victims and break the vicious cycle of bullying.