Activists,principals,psychologists and the police believe hat cyber bullying and stalking is exponentially rising in the city. The only way to check this is good parenting and better monitoring by teachers,say experts. Neville Misquitta,a city-based psychiatrist,said,Bullying is a way to show power over a vulnerable kid and it is increasing. In social networking world,the audience is large and the bully plays to the audience. Till 10-12 years,the effects are a bit less but for a child of 14-15 years,his/her self-esteem is hurt and that causes a lot of problems. My youngest patient was a 10-year-old who was being bullied on cyber space, said Misquitta. Never ignore when your child complains of bullying. Even bullies develop behavioural problem,which continue into adulthood and they are more prone to become anti-social. Victims are at a risk of behavioural and mental disorder, said Misquitta. Good parenting leads to trust among kids,who in turn tell that what is happening with them,said Misquitta. It also applies to parents of kids who bully others as it is an emotional problem. Parents need to talk to their kids. They need to build trust and confidence. Even having a meal together and talking about day-to-day things make children feel safe, she said. Senior advocate Vaishali Bhagwat said,The IT Act 2000 makes the act of sending offensive messages through a communication device a cognizable offence that could lead to jail up to three years, she said. Bhagwat said every school should have a cyber awareness group constituting teachers,counsellors and student volunteers who would on a continuous basis spread awareness on how to safely use the internet,monitor student activities,conduct awareness programmes for arens and make the users aware of the law, she said. The schools must have a complaint redressal mechanism along with counselling,she said. The officers from cyber crime cell of Pune police say some netiquettes should be followed . Officers said since in most cases minor boys and girls are involved,a formal FIR is not registered and cases are resolved through discussions with parents and teachers. There have been cases where school students post insulting messages about other students,create hate pages about a particular student and so on. Students have even created hate pages on teachers. When the schools or parents approach us,we call meetings and counselling sessions and try to resolve the cases, an officer said.
