Is Cyberbullying a Crime?

According to statistics 33% of youth across the globe experience bullying online and cyberbullying victims are 1.9 times more likely to commit suicide. In other to answer the question, is cyberbullying a crime? There’s a huge difference between cyberbullying and criticism. We shall discuss on the meaning of cyberbully, global statistic and antic-cyberbully law. The use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another individual is known as cyberbullying. Threats made online as well as nasty, combative, or nasty texts, tweets, posts, or communications all qualify. Posting private images, videos, or other content to hurt or embarrass someone else also counts.
Cyberbullying also encompasses images, texts, or webpages that remain up after someone requests that they be taken down. Put another way, it’s anything that is intended to harm, harass, or agitate another person and is put online.

What is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is defined as intimidating or making hurtful remarks about someone based on their gender, religion, sexual orientation, race, or physical characteristics. It is illegal in many states. This implies that bullies might face harsh consequences and that the police might become involved.
Because online bullying is typically anonymous or difficult to track down, it may be especially harmful and hurtful. It’s also difficult to manage, and the victim is unaware of the number of people—hundreds or perhaps thousands—who have viewed the posts or messages. Every time a person checks their computer or smartphone, they may experience constant pain.
Because the bully does not need to physically confront their target, online bullying and harassment can be more easily perpetrated than traditional forms of bullying.

This article will help you to answer the question, is cyberbullying a crime, laws against cyberbullying, its side effects to both physical and mental health.

What Are the Causes and Effects of Bullying?

Because the internet is anonymous, many people believe they may say anything they want without fear of repercussions, often without considering how their words may affect someone on the other side of the computer.
Each person may engage in cyberbullying for a different purpose. A 2010 study found that the most frequent causes were as follows:

To refocus emotions
To exact retribution
To improve their feelings
To reduce monotony
To provoke
To shield from envy
To look for acceptance
To adopt a different character

What Are the Mental Effects of Cyberbullying?

Adolescents who fall prey to cyberbullying can feel a variety of unfavorable feelings, including;

Anxiety
Shame
Rage
Grief.

Additionally, there is a higher likelihood that these victims may experience mental health issues like anxiety, sadness, and suicidal thoughts. They might experience feelings of loneliness and isolation, with no one to turn to. Additionally, teens who encounter cyberbullying are more likely to encounter other types of bullying, including online harassment and in-person bullying, according to research from the Cyberbullying Research Centre.

How Does Cyberbully Cause Depression?

Cyberbullying victims frequently experience emotions of helplessness and isolation, which can exacerbate anxiety and despair.

Studies have indicated that cyberbullying, as opposed to traditional bullying, can have a more profound effect on mental health. Cyberbullying victims are more prone to struggle with anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. Victims of cyberbullying are more likely to experience sadness than bullies themselves, according to a National Institutes of Health survey.

It’s critical to identify the warning signs of cyberbullying and take action to stop it. In addition to teaching their kids online safety, parents should keep an eye on their kids’ social media usage. By putting policies in place and teaching students about the negative consequences of bullying, schools may also help to prevent cyberbullying.

How Does Social Media Effect Mental Health?

Upon discovering they are not included in an activity on the internet, people may experience negative emotions and thoughts as well as bodily effects. Social media use has been linked in a 2018 British study to decreased, interrupted, and delayed sleep, all of which are linked to depression, memory loss, and subpar academic performance.

Signs of Cyber Bullying

Being overly private or guarded about one’s digital life, experiencing emotional distress during or after using the phone or Internet, spending more time than usual in their room, and withdrawing from or showing no interest in friends, family, and activities.

avoiding social events or gatherings at school; falling behind in schoolwork and “acting out” in anger; mood, behaviour, sleep, or appetite changes; wanting to stop using the computer or device all of a sudden; feeling tense or uneasy when receiving messages via text or email; and avoiding conversations about using the computer or phone.

What is the Physical Effect of Cyberbullying?

Physical effects of cyberbullying on the body

Cyberbullying has impacts beyond behavioral and emotional shifts. Additionally, there may be bodily repercussions. Cyberbullying can cause extreme levels of stress and anxiety, which can lead to physical problems like sleeplessness, digestive problems, and unhealthy eating habits.

Cyberbullying in Nigeria

Is cyberbullying a crime in Nigeria? Cyberbullying in Nigeria can take many different forms, such as sending cruel emails or threats to a person’s phone or email account, texting someone to spread rumors online, posting hurtful or threatening messages on social networking sites or webpages, or stealing account information to commit fraud. In Nigeria, the principal legislation on cyberbullying is the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, and Enforcement) Act, of 2015. Before the enactment of the Act, the legal regime on cyberbullying consisted mainly of the Criminal Code Act and the Penal Code Act. These Acts prohibit cyberbullying indirectly.

The cyberbully may also face serious repercussions. A cyberbully may be detained and charged with a crime. A young person charged with a crime in youth court must be 12 years of age or older.

A cyberbully may be prosecuted in a civil court and ordered to reimburse the victim for damages, in addition to being charged with a crime.

For instance, you are infringing someone’s right to privacy and their ability to decide what images of themselves they publish if you post images of them without their consent. A judge may mandate that you compensate the victim for losses.

Cyberbullying Statistics Worldwide

The United States has the highest share of cyberbullying incidents, according to a statistical analysis of cyberbullying.

Global statistics on cyberbullying

The rate of cyberbullying victims among middle and high school students in the United States is 35.5%.
The greatest rate of electronic bullying in the United States in 2022 was recorded in New Hampshire, at 20.1%.
Facebook is the online platform where occurrences of cyberbullying are most common.
In 2021, harassment and cyberbullying-related remarks accounted for 14.3% of all YouTube comments removed globally.
Online bullying and harassment have affected 59% of American teenagers.
33% of young people worldwide report being bullied online.
Eighty percent of teenagers claim that they find it hilarious when others bully them online.
36.5% of children between the ages of 12 and 17 report having been the target of bullying at least once in their lives.
38% of American internet users reported regularly seeing trolling on social media.
95% of children ignore cyberbullying, even though over half of them witness it occur online.
According to data on cyberbullying among US female students, 36.7% have been the victim of online abuse at least once in their lives.
The likelihood of cyberbullying is 1.3 times higher for girls than for boys.
In the US, verbal abuse at school is experienced by over 85% of LGBTQ adolescents.
Five out of ten kids say they have missed class due to cyberbullying.
37% of those who are bullied experience social anxiety.
In response to cyberbullying, over 21% of female victims between the ages of 19 and 25 express specific emotional issues.
Cyberbullying hurts students’ capacity to learn and feel comfortable at school, according to 64% of victims.
Suicide is 1.9 times more common among victims of cyberbullying.
68% of kids who have experienced cyberbullying have also struggled with mental health problems.
37% of those who had been bullied in the previous year experienced social anxiety and 36% experienced depression.
The psychological effects of feeling helpless (66%), not getting enough sleep (63%), and having low self-esteem (61%), are the most significant for female victims of cyberbullying.
Among pupils who were bullied, one in four took to self-harm.
66.3% of tweens made an effort to support cyberbullying victims.
Cyberbullying causes an 8.7% rise in suicide attempts.

Which Country has the Toughest Bullying Laws?

Canadian Cyberbullying Laws

Canadian regulations regarding cyberbullying are undoubtedly the most stringent. Not only is cyberbullying legislation in Canada recognizing cyberbullying as a criminal offense, but violators face harsh consequences. These include having your electronics seized, serving time in jail, and more. Not just that, but also! Canadian laws against cyberbullying give victims the right to sue them cyberbullies to obtain justice.

The Criminal Code doesn’t specifically address cyberbullying, although it may still be relevant in situations when it intersects with other offenses. Anyone found to be engaging in cyberbullying faces a suspension from school under the Education Act. Bullies who engage in cyberbullying regularly may potentially face expulsion or jail time. According to Canadian students, the most common forms of cyberbullying in Canada include catcalling, harassing someone while they’re playing an online game, spreading rumors, discrimination based on ethnicity or religion, sexual assault, and discrimination based on sexual orientation.

What is the Campaign to Stop Bullying?

It has been shown that a few discrete elements of anti-bullying and/or anti-cyberbullying initiatives can cut victimization and bullying rates by about 20% (Ttofi and Farrington, 2011). According to research, certain program elements and protective variables appear to have the greatest impact on lowering victimization and bullying. Bullying and victimization have been shown to decrease when parents are involved and use effective parenting techniques. For instance, Elsaesser et al. (2017) discovered that specific mediation techniques for limiting Internet and technology use were more successful than merely imposing general limitations on kids in their assessment of parental roles and cyberbullying among youth. Cyberbullying and cyber victimization tend to decline in proportion when young people are active in establishing the guidelines for using the Internet and other technology.

On the other hand, parents who enforce stricter rules and regulations regarding their children’s use of technology and the Internet only slightly lessen the instances of cyberbullying and cyber victimization. According to Elsaesser et al. (2017), parents who exhibit high levels of warmth and control, or authoritative parenting, are linked to lower rates of cyberbullying perpetration than parents who exhibit low levels of warmth and high control, or authoritarian parenting. These findings may shed light on the topic of the best parenting practices when it comes to youth cyberbullying. Furthermore, studies have shown that program intervention strategies that focus on parents are among the most successful ways to address bullying (Ttofi and Farrington, 2011; Roberto et al., 2017) and that it is crucial to keep focusing on parents to lessen bullying (Hutson et al., 2018).

In conclusion

In summary, instead of asking, is cyberbullying a crime? It is very important we learn to say no against cyberbullying of any form, because of its effect to both physical, emotional and mental health. And to be honest no one is above cyberbullying, circumstances beyond our control could lead to that. In other to promote anti-cyberbullying campaign through the use of digital and online promotions against cyberbullying, positive use of cyberbully meme, cyberbully posters, cyber bullying clipart and cyber bullying infographics.