For children and adolescents, home was once a safe haven from bullies as bullying was mostly confined to educational environment like schools and hostels, but not any more with people, both young and old, being hooked to social media for various purposes. Today, no place and time is safe from bullies and people have very little chance of escaping abuse as communication technology has become an integral part of our lives. The increase in screen time especially among the youth and the spill over of political vendetta to social media and online platforms comment sections has compounded the possibility of internet users falling prey to trolls. Studies have revealed that most people experience bullying at some point of time, be it on or offline, making the safety of youngsters critical. Cyberbullying includes abusing, ridiculing, defaming, harassing, and intimidating, among others. As it chiefly taps into societal undercurrent of prejudice connected to race, religion, looks, sexuality, gender, etc., the impact on the victims can be more profound than most people would imagine. It can have irreparable impact on victim’s physical and mental health, emotional well-being and even academic performance. There are also instances of young people, who are already over burdened with academic pressure, stiff competition and economic uncertainty, resorting to self-harm due to stress caused by bullying. This is why voices calling out to deal the menace with utmost seriousness are getting louder as the dependency on various communication platforms will only increase.
While the internet has completely transformed the way people communicate and disseminate information, as well as opened the windows of opportunities and possibilities, it has also provided a space for many to bully and spew negativity on social media and other online platforms. Nagaland is witnessing this phenomenon as well. Many internet users from the state not only lack social media etiquette but are also overly harsh to politicians, artistes and public figures. This is what the overwhelming negative, distasteful and personal comments on social media platforms say. Sharing opinions and giving positive criticism is fine but hitting below the belt is not. A closer look at the comments of social media users from the state indicates that much of the negativity is a result of double standards and prejudice. When people change tones or use different yardsticks to measure similar things based on gender, location, religion, community, social status, etc., you know something is seriously wrong. Such unfair treatment, discrimination and bullying have to be stopped once and for all as its impact on the victims and the society is grave. And much of the negativity we see in our society today can be removed by removing double standards in the way we look at fellow human beings.
