Eight out of ten Indians face online harassment, Mumbai leads the lot

PUNE: A new study conducted by Norton by Symantec found that eight out of ten people have experienced some form of online harassment in India. The most common forms of online harassment were abuse and insults (63 per cent) and malicious gossip and rumours (59 per cent).

Incidence of online harassment was particularly high for people in the under 40s age group, with 65 per cent reporting online abuse and insults. Further, 87 per cent of people with disabilities or poor mental health and 77 per cent of those with weight issues reported experiences of abuse or insults online.

Ritesh Chopra, Country Manager, Norton by Symantec said that the level of online harassment in India was extremely concerning.“Our latest research shows that more serious forms of online harassment including threats of physical violence (45 per cent), cyberbullying (44 per cent) and cyberstalking (45 per cent) are very high. It is also worrying that for over 40 per cent of incidences of cyberbullying and nearly half of all cases of cyberstalking people said that the perpetrator was a stranger.”

The aim of the study was to understand the country's exposure to online harassment, ranging from unwanted conflict, trolling, character assassinations, and cyberbullying to sexual harassment and threats of physical violence, as well as the impacts of these experiences.
“With India’s growing population spending more time on social media platforms and mobile applications, it is important that online users’ take basic precautions to protect their safety and security to avoid unwanted contact,” said Chopra.



While both genders reported similar experiences of online harassment, men under 40 and people with disabilities and poor mental health were more susceptible to some of the more serious threats, with 49 per cent of men and 71 per cent of people with disabilities or poor mental health reported receiving threats of physical violence. Another 50 per cent of men and 67 per cent of people with disabilities or poor mental health reported at least one incidence of cyberbullying.

In terms of regions, the highest threats of physical violence were reported in Mumbai (51 per cent), Delhi (47 per cent) and Hyderabad (46 per cent).

Sexual harassment was also a concern for the under 40s, experienced by 40 per cent of this age group. It is more commonly encountered by women than men but those who were most likely to report this form of harassment were people who had disabilities or mental health issues, with 69 per cent reporting being victim to this kind of abuse.

Being sent sexual comments and messages on social media as well as receiving disturbing emails were the most common complaints. Reports of sexual harassment were highest by victims from Delhi and Mumbai (43 per cent) followed by Kolkata (37 per cent) and Bangalore (36 per cent).



IMPACT

Online harassment often triggered emotional reactions with 45 per cent of people saying it made them feel angry, 41 per cent irritated and 36 per cent frustrated. One in four women found their experience frightening. Online harassment also had an offline impact, with 33 per cent enhancing their privacy settings on social media, 28 per cent reporting that is had impacted their work and studies, 27 per cent experienced an impact on the nature of their relationships with friends, 26 percent becoming depressed or anxious and 24 per cent losing friends.