New Delhi, June 30 , 2012 — More than half (53 percent) of respondents in India have been bullied online, according to a new Global Youth Online Behavior Survey released  by Microsoft. 
Conducted in 25 countries Jan. 11, 2012, to Feb. 19, 2012, among more than 7,600 children ages 8 to 17, the survey focuses on how kids are treating one another online and whether parents are addressing online behaviors. The report puts India at No. 3 on the list, behind only China (70 percent) and Singapore (58 percent), highlighting the need to increase education about online behaviour in India amongst all stakeholders.

Some striking findings of the survey are:
• More than 5 in 10 children surveyed (ages 8 to 17) say they have experienced what adults might consider online bullying, while a similar number think they have done something parents would consider online bullying.
• Forty-five percent of parents teach their children online manners. • Thirty-eight percent of the schools attended by respondents have formal policies on cyber bullying.

Globally, the survey also uncovered that children want to talk to parents about the issue, but only 29 percent of kids say their parents have talked to them about protecting themselves online. What’s more, according to the results, there is not one common step taken by parents to address the problem, with only 17 percent having communicated a clear set of rules for negative online behaviours.

“Protecting children from online bullying is a shared responsibility. Everyone plays a role: parents, educators, school counsellors, coaches, online safety advocates, industry, law enforcement, government and children themselves,” said Jacqueline Beauchere, director, Trustworthy Computing for Microsoft. “At Microsoft, we help empower adults with the productive tools and resources to help start the conversation with kids about how to stay safer online.”

While India records a high percentage for online bullying, it reports below average incidence of offline bullying. Bullying peers online and offline are significantly above average, as is the knowledge and concern about online bullying (75 percent vs. 57 percent globally). Formal school policies and education programs are prevalent in India but this has not translated into lower online bullying rates.
Additional resources:
Fuller details of Microsoft study: http://www.microsoft.com/security/resources/research.aspx#onlinebullying  
(US) Centre for Disease Control resources
http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/EA-brief-a.pdf  
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberbullying