9 of 10 adults are cyberbullies: Study

A study conducted in India and the US says that 9 out of 10 adults using social media are engaged in cyberbullying and are mostly young, educated men under 30.

A study conducted in India and the United States has found that nine out of ten adults who use social media have committed an act of cyberbullying, and this is not the only surprise finding of the study.

According to the recently published findings of the study led by RMIT, the ones who are most likely to indulge in the act of cyberbullying were men in the age group of 23 to 30 years and the ones with high educational background. It further found that those who are emotionally unstable and exhibited psychopathic personality traits are more likely to engage in such behaviour.

Young, educated and toxic:

Participants, who were adults over 18 and hailed from different backgrounds as well as genders, were asked a series of questions on their social media activities. These participants had used one social media platform (either Facebook or YouTube) for at least a period of three years.

The questions posed to them varied from if they had ever posted hurtful, rude or mean content targeting someone, or spread rumours or misinformation about someone, or if they had ever indulged in embarrassing or pranking someone intentionally on social media. They could answer these questions on a scale of 'Never' to 'Very frequently'.

The result came as a shocker to even the researcher. The findings said that 94 per cent of the study participants had indulged in cyberbullying. "The most surprising and disappointing thing is nine out of ten adults who use social media said they have committed some form of cyberbullying," Lead RMIT researcher Mohammad Hossain said. He, however, added that the most important findings were related to the characteristics of a cyberbully.

Males aged 23 to 30 were most likely to engage in such behaviour, as were those people deemed emotionally unstable. So were the highly educated and those with psychopathic personality traits. But Dr. Hossain stressed it was still difficult to distil an exact profile of a cyberbully and said, "They possess a unique combination of characteristics that do not work in isolation."

The findings of such studies can come in handy for the social media administrators who can, with the information and insight, determine the people who are more likely to indulge in such behaviour. Variables such as age, gender, education and personality traits are important markers in gauging the risks of online toxic behaviour. With these findings, the researchers hope that the policymakers can put in place preventive measures and behavioural programmes targeting such people.

"By looking at the configurations, the social media administrators can predict cyberbullying acts beforehand, and they can take measures to stop those," Dr. Hossain said.

Different countries, same results:

The researchers recruited a total of 313 respondents from the US and India using an online survey platform called Mturk. The two countries, India and the US, were chosen for the research given their "cultural and political differences, as well as differences in cyber law policies and implementation".

"We expected that because of those differences, the cyberbullying behaviour would be different," Dr Hossain said in the report. The research findings, however, came as a surprise since there wasn't much difference in the final result in the two countries with almost similar cyberbullying patterns in both the countries.

Now the Australian researchers behind the study want to replicate it here, to see if it can help shape the battle against toxic online behaviour.

What is cyberbullying?

According to the definition given by UNICEF, cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies. It can take place on social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms and mobile phones. It is repeated behaviour, aimed at scaring, angering or shaming those who are targeted. Examples include:

• spreading lies about or posting embarrassing photos or videos of someone on social media
• sending hurtful, abusive or threatening messages, images or videos via messaging platforms
• impersonating someone and sending mean messages to others on their behalf or through fake accounts.

Steps to take if you face cyberbullying:

If you or someone you know is a victim of cyberbullying, to begin with, remember the four R's which are Record-Restrict-Reach out-Report.

Record: Keep a record of the bullying messages you receive. It would be easier to verify the bully in the event of reporting or taking stricter action.

Restrict: Cut off from the bully.

Reach out: Talk to someone you trust. Sometimes such events can leave the most balanced individual off-guard so it is a good idea to seek advice or help from a third person.

Report: Cyberbullying is an offence and from reporting them to the website, authorities or even cybercrime cell is an option you should not run away from.