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1. Institute for Excellence in
Higher Education
Research Methodology Project
On
“Impact of Cyberbullying on Youth
in India”
Submitted to:
Miss Gurpreet Kaur
Submitted by:
Disha Nihachlani
B.com Hons Accounts
Sec-A, Roll No. 120010

2. Certificate
This is to certify that Disha Nihachlani is a regular
student of Institute for Excellence in Higher
Education. She has conducted an authentic research
on the topic “Impact of Cyberbullying on Youth in
India” and has completed her research methodology
report successfully under the guidance of Miss
Gurpreet Kaur. The report is being prepared for her
Bachelors’ of Commerce Examination 2021 and is
being submitted thereof.
The work done by her is satisfactory and as per the
prescribed guidelines by the institute.
(Signature)
Guided by:
Miss Gurpreet Kaur

3. Declaration
I Disha Nihachlani student of Bachelors of
Commerce Third Sem Roll No. 120010 hereby,
declare that this project work entitled “Impact of
Cyberbullying on Youth in India” is a result of my
own research work under the guidance of Miss
Gurpreet Kaur and has not been previously
submitted to any other university for any other
examination.
I hereby further declare that all information of this
document has been obtained and presented in
accordance with academic rules and ethical
conduct.
Date:-
Place:- Institute for Excellence in Higher Education.

4. Acknowledgement
I would like to show my deepest appreciation to all
those who provided me the responsibility to
complete this report.
I would like to thanks Miss Gurpreet Kaur to have
provided me with such a great opportunity to work
on this research project. I am grateful to all the
respondents of the questionnaires for being so
much co-operative and patient to fill in all the
required answers in the questionnaires. The project
would not have been such a success without their
contribution.
Last, but not the least, I would like to thank my family,
friends and all those who helped me in some way or the
others in the successful completion of this research
project.
(Signature)
Miss Gurpreet Kaur

5. Preface
Quite frequently these days people talk of research,
both in academic instruction and outside. Several
research studies undertaken and accomplished year
after year. It should be noted that significance of
research lies in the quality. Therefore it is important
for those concerned research to pay due attention
to designing and adhering to appropriate
methodology, throughout for improving the quality
of the research.
Keeping in mind all the views, the research report
has been implemented on the basis of survey to
study the topic, “Impact of Cyberbullying on Youth
in India”. The research has been completed based
on SECONDARY DATA and PRIMARY DATA.

6. Index
Sr.
No.
Particulars Page
No.
1. Introduction
2. Method of Data
Collection
3. Data Analysis
and
Interpretation
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography

7. Chapter 1
Introduction

8. Abstract
Cyberbullying or cyber harassment is a form of bullying or
harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyber
harassment are also known as online bullying. It has become
increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the
digital sphere has expanded and technology has advanced.
Cyberbullying is when someone, typically a teenager, bullies
or harasses others on the internet and other digital spaces,
particularly on social media sites. Harmful bullying behavior
can include posting rumors, threats, sexual remarks, a
victims’ personal information, or pejorative labels (i.e. hate
speech). Bullying or harassment can be identified by repeated
behavior and an intent to harm. Victims of cyberbullying may
experience lower self-esteem, increased suicidal ideation,
and various negative emotional responses, including being
scared, frustrated, angry, or depressed. Cyberbullying is a
huge problem nationwide and affects a large proportion of
adolescence population.
According to Belsey (2004) “cyberbullying involves the use of
information and Communication technologies to support

9. deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an Individual or
group that is intended to harm others” (Belsey, 2004).
In 2006, the National Crime Prevention Council worked with
Harris Interactive Inc., to create a study on Cyberbullying. The
study found that 43% of the 824 middle school and high
school-aged Students surveyed in the United States had been
cyberbullied in the past year (cited in Moessner, 2007).
The use of online technology is exploding worldwide and is
fast becoming a preferred method of interacting among
young people (Gross, 2004; Jackson et Al. 2006; Hinduja and
Patchin, 2009; Shariff, 2009):
“At its best, the internet is a democratising, rewarding and
Illuminating experience for our young people; an
experience That they embrace with curiosity, vigour and
expertise.“
(Cross et al. 2009:11).
While most online interactions are neutral or positive, the
internet provides a new means through which young people
are bullied. A recent study discovered Cyber-bullying to be a
serious problem and some participants felt that it was more

10. serious than ‘traditional’ bullying due to the associated
anonymity (Mishna Et al 2009). This supports the work of
Betts (2008) and Cowie and Jennifer (2008) who found the
impact of cyber-bullying was worse than traditional bullying.
Such serious impact was due to the secretive nature of the
incident, the invasion of personal space and the fact that
potentially harmful messages can be sent to large groups in a
short time. On the other hand Direct gov (2009) assert that
cyber-bullying is just as harmful as traditional forms of
bullying and thus not ‘more harmful’.
Cyber-bullying has been described as:
“…an aggressive intentional act carried out by a group or
individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and
over time against a victim who can not easily defend him or
herself.“ (Smith et al. 2008: 376)
This description of cyber-bullying shows that communication
technology tools and media are being used to engage in
online bullying, and like traditional bullying it is intentional,
deliberate and exclusionary (Shariff, 2009).

11. Purpose of the study:-
The main aim or purpose of conducting this comprehensive
study were:-
• To study about the concept of cyberbullying.
• To know modes and consequences of cyberbullying in
India.
• To examine the nature and extent of cyberbullying in
India.
• To find out the elicit solutions to prevent cyberbullying.
Research Questions:-
The main motive of this comprehensive study on “Impact of
Cyberbullying on Youth in India” is to find answers to the
following research questions:-
1.What is the prevalence if cyberbullying among college
students and different forms of cyberbullying?
2.What is the level of internet usage among college
students and how internet causes cyberbullying?
3.What is the attitude of college students towards
cyberbullying?
4.Do students prefer to remain silent after being
cyberbullied or cyberbullying cases are reported?

12. Assumptions and Limitations:-
It was assumed that the research reviewed has been done
by researchers with integrity. It was also assumed that the
literature reviewed would clearly identify the prevalence
and seriousness of cyberbullying. In addition, the literature
review would show different forms of cyberbullying and
the differences between males and females when it comes
to cyberbullying. Finally, the literature would show
recommended preventions and interventions for parents,
victims and schools.
Possible limitations of the study were that the topic of
cyberbullying is relatively new and therefore a lot of the
research is overlapping by reciting the same studies.

13. Literature Review
Social Networking Sites:-
Social Networking sites have became increasingly
more popular among the adolescence population. The term
social networking sites encompasses a broad range of sites,
so it’s important to have a operational definition. For the
purpose of most research studies, a social networking sites
(SNS) is defined as a web-based service that allows an
individual to construct a profile within the system that
consists of content supplied by the user, by the other user,
and/or provided by the system and contains a public list of
users that they have controlled over with whom the can
make connections with, share data with, and /or interact
with. On a SNS, a user is able to meet new people who may
share similar interests, be in a similar location, or have similar
demographics. Popular SNS among teens include Myspace,
Facebook, and Twitter, among many others.

14. Cyberbullying on the Internet:-
Cyberbullying is the act of bullying in cyberspace
by spreading rumors, making threats, posting embarrassing
information or pictures, sending threatening messages, or
any other means of bullying and is defined as behavior that is
intentional and harmful.
Cyberbullying can occur through mobile phones, email, chat
rooms, web pages, instant messaging, and social networking
sites. There are multiple ways for teens who cyberbully to
harass users on SNS. The most common ways are: to post
cruel messages or threats on the victim‘s profile, send cruel
private messages to the victim, post cruel messages or
threats on someone else‘s profile about the victim, or to
upload nasty or embarrassing pictures of the victim on a SNS.
Cyberbullying on SNS is appealing because it can be done
both publicly and privately. Dredge, Gleeson and de la Piedad
Garcia (2014) found that both ways were used almost equally
as frequent. Facebook users have the ability to post
information publicly and they also can use a messaging
system where they can send information to people privately.

15. Prevalence of Cyberbullying:-
With the increase in Internet use over the
years, cyberbullying has become more common. In a survey
conducted in 2011 of 195 teenagers ages 12-17, over 25%
reported experiencing some kinds of cyberbullying.
While looking at the prevalence of cyberbullying, it is also
important to take into account how many times a victim has
been cyberbullied. A study done by Li (2007) looked at the
prevalence rates of cyberbullying and how many times a
victim was cyberbullied. This study collected data from 264
seventh grade students from Canada and 197 seventh grade
students from China. Li (2007) found that 28.9% of the
students reported being victimized by cyberbullying and
17.8% reported cyberbullying others. Of the students who
reported being victimized by cyberbullying, 54.9% reported
being harassed less than four times, 20.3% reported being
harassed between four and 10 times, and 21.1% reported
being harassed 10 or more times (Li, 2007). By viewing the
prevalence of cyberbullying, it shows that cyberbullying is an
issue. But, when viewing the prevalence of cyberbullying and
how many times victims have been bullied it shows that
cyberbullying is an even bigger issue.

16. Gender Differences:-
The current literature looking at gender differences
among cyberbullies and adolescents who have
been victimized by cyberbullying is not consistent.
Some studies report there being a significant
gender difference, while others report no
difference. In a study done by Schenk (2011), there
was no gender difference found among the 8.6% of
participants who reported being a cyberbully
victim. This also supports the results found in a
study done by Hinduja and Patchin (2008) that
there is no significant gender difference between
adolescents victimized by cyberbullying.

17. Chapter 2
Methods of Data
Collection

18. Data Collection:-
Data Collection is a methodical process of gathering and
analyzing specific information to prefer solutions to relevant
questions and evaluate the results.
For collectors of data, there is a range of outcomes for which
the data is collected.
The core forms in which the data can be collected are primary
and secondary data.
• Primary Data- It is a form of data collected as the form of
raw data. It is the process of collecting the original data
for a research problem. Here in this study, Impact of
Cyberbullying on Youth, the researcher had used the
Online Questionnaire Method.
• Secondary Data- Secondary data is a form of data which
is collected as a gathering of second hand data collected
by an individual who is not an original user.
Under this study a mixed approach was used. Primary data
was collected by a questionnaire and secondary data was
collected through journals, books, newspapers and
previous research studies.

19. Research Design:-
The Research method which was used to study the problem
was a mixed method approach. The most dominant and
prevalent approach was quantitative approach.
Under this study, the researcher more on relied on the
secondary sources of data such as books, journals, e-sources,
articles, newspapers and previous research thesis.
Apart from this the present research is conclusive, descriptive
and based on non-empirical design.
Population and the sample for the study
The universe of the study comprise of students in the age
group of 15-30 years. However, a small sample of college
students in the age groups of 25-30 and 30-35 is also taken
for comparison purposes with 18-25 age group of students. A
total of 50 respondents were selected for the present study.
Purposive sampling method was adopted to choose the
college student samples. Due to the nature of the study and
its limitations, the researcher has selected purposive

20. sampling technique. There was no discrimination made
among the participants based on their culture, religion,
ethnicity, language, community, caste and religion.
Data collection
Primary Data were collected using Online Questionnaire
Method. The questionnaire was based on the following
categories:-
• Section 1 - Social Economic Characteristics
• Section 2 – Internet Usage
• Section 3- Prevalence of Cyberbullying
• Section 4 – Opinions and impact of Cyberbullying
• Section 5 – Cyberbullying Solutions
To fulfil the study objectives, for the present study most of
the data collected belongs to the category of primary data. In
the present study the primary data was collected by the
researcher from the students. The secondary data related to
the review of literature and other related aspects were
collected from the Libraries, Journals, Magazines and Internet
Sources.

21. Chapter 3
Analysis and
Interpretation of Data

22. Introduction:-
This section includes the result of the descriptive
statistical analysis carried on the basis of primary data
collected and secondary data founded.
The results are shown in the table, graphs and pie-charts
according to the need of the question.
Data Interpretation and Analysis:-
Sample Demographics:-
Table 1:- Sample description as per age and
gender.
Fig1:- Sample distribution according to Age
Group.
Age Group Number Percentage(%)
15-20 44 84.6%
21-25 7 11.5%
25-30 1 3.9%

23. Fig 2:- Sample distribution according to.
Gender.
Age Group Number Percentage(%)
Male 10 21.2%
Female 42 78.8%

24. Table 1 highlights the social characteristics of the
respondents of the study. In this study, 78.8% of respondents
were female and 21.2% were male.
More than 80% of the respondents were from 15-20 years
age group, 11% respondents were from 21-25 years age
group.
Internet Usage:-
Table 2:- Sample distribution according to
Internet Usage:-
Level of internet usage among youth and
its impact on cyberbullying

25. Table 2 describes that does internet usage is
the cause of cyberbullying or not.
According to the questionnaire 51.9% of the
respondents think that internet level is the
cause of cyberbullying.
38.5% of the respondents think that internet
usage does not have any affect on
cyberbullying.
Most of the above results corroborate with a
recent study done in India. In another
qualitative study on cyber bullying done by
Moore (2011) Among 19 Adolescent girls found
that the respondents had a computer at their
home and had access to the Internet on a
daily basis and had faced cyberbullying in
their life.
The results of the present study in
corroboration with other study shows that
there is typically a rise in the Internet Usage
among the youth and the more the usage has
an impact on the victimization and
perpetration pattern of cyberbullying.

26. Prevalence of Cyberbullying:-
Table 3:- Sample distribution according to
Prevalence :-
Fig 3:- % of respondents that have been
cyberbullied.
Fig 4:- How often does cyberbullying
happen?

27. In the above figures i.e. figure 3 and figure 4
the data shows the prevalence of
cyberbullying. According to the research
65.4% of respondents have been cyberbullied.
Cyberbullying occurs very often. 44%
respondents have said that it occurs very
often but not all the time while, 28%
respondents have said that it occurs all the
time.
According to a study done by Schneider, O
‘Donnell, Stueve, and Coulter (2012) used
data from a reginal census of high school
students to look at the prevalence of
cyberbullying and school bullying. This study
found that of the 20,000 students in the
census, 15.8% reported being victimized by
cyberbullying (Schneider, O‘Donnell, Stueve,
& Coulter, 2012).

28. Impact of Cyberbullying:-
Table 4:- Sample distribution according to
Impact on mental health :-
According to the survey, 88% respondents
think that cyberbullying affect the mental
health of the victim.
According to a study published in the Journal
of Clinical Psychiatry this week, cyberbullying
exacerbated symptoms of depression and

29. post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in
predisposed adolescents.
Cyberbullying can have negative impacts on
the wellbeing and mental health of youths,
who may be uncertain of what to do, leading
some young people to feel isolated, scared or
alone.
Table 4:- Sample distribution according to
whether the cases are reported or not:-

30. According to the sample taken, 55%
respondents have said that they have reported
the case to the police but 44% respondents
have not reported.
According to a secondary data available
around 9.2% of 630 adolescents surveyed in
Delhi-National Capital Region had experienced
cyberbullying and half of them had not
reported it to teachers, guardians or the social
media companies concerned, a recent study
by Child Rights and You (CRY), a non-
governmental organization, found.

31. Solutions of Cyberbullying:-
Table 4:- Sample distribution according to
the ways of coping cyberbullying:-
According to the sample study, the most
prevalent way to stop cyberbullying is having
community drop in centers where students
can go and take help and educating parents
and youth about the impacts of cyberbullying.

32. Chapter 4
Conclusion

33. Summary:-
Bullying is predominantly considered as a serious issue in
western countries (Jaishankar, 2008). In India, bullying is part
of certain cultures. Even though school bullying or college
bullying is prevalent in the name of ragging (Ragging is
strongly condoned now after Raghavan committee gained
Popularity), we do not give the connotation of bullying in the
Indian context (Jaishankar & Shariff, 2008). However, there
are new laws regarding ragging in schools and colleges,
bullying per se has not been condoned. The use of modern
technologies such as internet and mobile phones has
increased the prevalence of bullying by school and college
students. Today, internet and mobile phones have become a
part of everybody‘s lives, including students (Jaishankar &
Shariff, 2008).
Conclusion:-
The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of
youth who have been victimized by cyberbullying. This study
found that youth who have been victimized by cyberbullying
report experiencing negative emotional impacts, which is
supported by previous literature. The findings of this study
are important and useful for social workers to gain insight

34. into the experiences that have been faced by youth who have
been victimized by cyberbullying.

35. Chapter 5
Bibliography

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Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2011). Cyberbullying research
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39. Appendix
Online Questionnaire:-
https://forms.gle/mnZ1UtLq5xPzJB6y9
This is my research methodology project.
Please help me by taking your valuable time in filling this
form on “Impact of Cyberbullying on Youth in India”
I’ll be grateful to you
Thank you