As technology is getting advanced day by day, our lives are becoming easier. The Internet has become a crucial platform for our daily lives. The use of the Internet has positive as well as negative consequences. It has become a seedbed for cybercrime. Since the coronavirus lockdown has taken place, almost all the activities, whether education or leisure, have shifted online which has resulted in a significant hike in cybercrimes. Online sexual harassment and cyberbullying[i] is the most recent crimes that happened during online classes.
Amidst the lockdown, there has been a spike in the number of cyber threats amounting to rape and murder to the teachers. “Spending more time on virtual platforms can leave children vulnerable to online sexual exploitation and grooming, as predators look to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic. A lack of face-to-face contact with friends and partners may lead to heightened risk-taking such as sending sexualized images, while increased and unstructured time online may expose children to potentially harmful and violent content as well as a greater risk of cyberbullying”, according to UNICEF.[ii]
Focusing on the increase in the number of cyber threat cases, the object of this paper is to provide an overview of various cyberbullying cases. The main sections will cover cyber threats and education, the effectiveness of cyber laws, and finally, the conclusion.
[i] “the activity of using messages on social media, emails, text messages, etc. to frighten or upset somebody.” cyberbullying noun – Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/cyberbullying?q=cyberbullying
[ii] Children at increased risk of harm online during global COVID-19 pandemic. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/children-increased-risk-harm-online-during-global-covid-19-pandemic
