Russian online harassment
With the vastly growing online technology, more than 50% of Russian Users are subjected to Cyber-bullying. This is because education in a contemporary society highly depends on the internet, ranging from accessing digital textbooks and other reading materials, to obtaining a degree online. Despite the educational benefit that the internet offers to students, teachers, and the parents, most individuals primarily students are immensely bullied online. Cyber-bulling is considered a social problem, where people use electronic technology to threaten, embarrass, or harass other individuals. According to research, income inequality in Russia is an essential factor that has led to increased cyber-bullying in most Russian schools. In most cases, students from well-off backgrounds are depicted to bully those from low-income families technologically. According to Russian online harassment metrics, 49% are considered aware of the bullying, 67% are worried about the threats, 48% are bullied online, while over 70% of teenagers are bullied offline. Although teenage boys are considered conversant with cyber-bullying, they are subjected to equal rates of online harassment as girls. Parents, school leaders, and the state government should come together and establish measures to combat cyber-bullying as a critical social issue in Russia.
For many years, bullying has been a controversial issue in the Russian Federation, with no substantial measure being taken by the appropriate authorities. Every child is prone to cyber-bullying, but those with low self-esteem, low self-confidence, and those living with disabilities are subjected to higher risks. Bullying victims are likely to experience headaches, suicidal thoughts, and enuresis, among other impacts. Most student perpetrators are considered to uphold antisocial behaviors, frustration, dissatisfaction, refuse to comply with established rules, and different harbor feelings. Cyber-bullying can make younger children frightened, ashamed, and becomes more vulnerable to joining the perpetrator gangs. According to 2015 research concerning cyber-bullying in Russia, 25% of children were bullied online within twelve months. In this context, 10% of them were children aged 9-12 years and had been subjected to more than one harassment case, 4% were bullied once in a month while 6% of the total number were subjected to regular harassment.
Although the research postulated that boys and girls are subjected to the same rates of harassment, boys were depicted to be bullied more occasionally than their female counterparts. However, at the age of twelve, the rates of girl bullying start to hike while that of boys starts to drop. At the age of thirteen years, boys are considered to have a 24% perpetration rate as considered to 14% of girls. In general, girls are more likely to spread online rumors. At the same time, boys will post videos, pictures of another, and a hurtful post that will cause a psychological impact on another individual. In Russian schools where bullying is prevalent, teachers are depicted to encourage students to use peaceful ways of solving their issues. However, preventing virtual harassment is considered a problematic activity, especially with the immensely growing technology. While the Russians are not keen on the social problem, the outcome of cyber-bullying has subjected multiple learners to isolation, aggression behaviors, depression, and other aspects of frustration.
In most Russian schools, bullying is caused by various elements, including personal aspects, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities, race, and family issues, as well. According to UNESCO statistics, more than 15% of students and pupils who are bullied in Russia are considered to be ashamed of their body and facial look. Despite the high number of teenagers subjected to cyber-bullying in Russia, eliminating the issue is regarded as a substantial challenge because most of them are unwilling to report their cases. This makes Russia to be associated with low levels of awareness, surpassing other affected countries such as France and Saudi Arabia. According to NRU statistics concerning high school economics, 70% of students attending Russian secondary schools are considered to face one or two monthly online harassment. While the effects of cyber-bullying are considered adverse among Russian students, the established norm in the community; that bullying is an aspect of adulthood is creating a wicked spirit among modern teenagers.
In research conducted in Russia in 2017 to estimate the level of bullying in schools, teenagers’ participation, involvement, and willingness to report the bullying incidence, various outcomes were established. The study was carried out in Moscow, with a sample of 1200 students. Concerning the findings, 40% revealed to experience bullying, 13% had initiated the online harassment, and over 43% had reported incidences to parents and other related adults. Although the reported rates are high among Russian schools, parents and adults can hardly influence these incidences, since they lack awareness concerning the whole phenomenon. Therefore, the issue of cyber-bullying and other forms of victimization is affecting the learning environment in most Russian schools, making knowledge absorption unsuitable. A research conducted by Microsoft in 2015 concerning global rates of cyber-bullying, Russian schools were considered to be severely affected. Based on the research findings, 50% of students aging 12-17 years were found to experience harassment, with Russia being ranked the fifth position out of 25 countries that were engaged.
Moreover, Russian teachers are depicted to display less attention concerning cyber-bullying, making students conceal more incidences than other counterparts in other European regions. Despite having limited awareness concerning cyber-bullying in the Russian Federation, the level of victimization in schools is considered higher than other republics. Likewise, pupils and students rarely report bullying cases, and teachers do not respond adequately to the reported cases, making it difficult to eliminate the vice in Russian schools. With the advancement of more technological devices and other social media apps, the rate of cyber-bullying is considered to escalate immensely. For instance, Microsoft has recently conducted another research concerning the social issue, where it revealed 71% of users in Russia are likely to face harassment, compared to a 52% global average. However, the researchers discovered that most of the affected individuals in Russia have lower susceptibility rates compared to other global regions. The Russian metrics suggested that only 43% of the affected students tend to show emotional imbalance after being subjected to online harassment, considering the global average is 55%.
Above and beyond, the Russian Federation is depicted to have a different standpoint concerning the bullying, primarily as a young generation phenomenon. Most of Russian teachers and parents believe cyber-bullying will help students and pupils to overcome life difficulties, generate personal traits, and to establish better approaches among peers. Such perspective implies poor engagement of parents and school leaders, in addressing the social problem affecting Russian students. As a result, cases escalate, leading to depression, aggression, and teenage suicide. In recent years, Russia has been considered the world-highest on issues related to adolescent suicide aging between 15 and 19 years. According to the UNICEF report, more than 1500 teenagers in Russia commit suicide annually, which is higher than the neighboring republics of Kazakhstan and Belarus. Of these cases, 30% are attributed to cyber-bullying. For instance, two-fourteen-year-old teenage girls were reported to commit suicide by jumping from a story building. They had not attended schools for two weeks due to pressure and threats from other peers in social media platforms, and they feared the consequences of their parents’ realization.
More teenagers in contemporary society are becoming victims of aggression due to exposure to online cyber-bullying. According to a Russian online survey on 10-16-year-old participants, 34% were considered to get agitated and upset by different online content. Those subjected to negative experiences were deemed to be reluctant to attend school after the harassment. The Russian government has tried to impose multiple policy recommendations to try mitigating the social issue. However, the phenomenon is considered broad, and more researches need to be conducted to establish the root cause of the vice and address it from scratch. Currently, questions concerning why the rate of bullying is escalating in Russia are subjected to immense debates in different Russian regions. Firstly, the high incidence of cyber-bullying in Russia is attributed to most teenagers being equipped with technological devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and other related devices. The time spent on these devices has increased than a decade ago. For instance, a 2019 online survey in Russia revealed that more than 60% of teenagers (12-18) socialized on social media daily, in contrast to 29% in the 2009 study.
Although it is challenging to identify cyber-bullying incidences primarily in schools, parents should understand it constitutes poor performance and other developmental problems in children. In most cases, both the victims and the perpetrators are attributed to poor academic achievements due to anxiety and depression linked to the incidents. The poor performance of students is likely to affect the overall performance of the schools and state academic average in the long-run. Other peer-reviewed studies attribute cyber-bullying in Russia with lower esteem and poor self-image for most students. In most cases, people who are subjected to various types of online harassment are likely to have low self-esteem, primarily if the post reflects their body or facial looks. To effectively mitigate online harassment in Russia, primarily for teenagers, parents, school leaders, government officials, and peers should collaboratively establish strong policy recommendations. Responding to this issue is considered counterproductive, but most people do not report cases of harassment.
According to recent reviews, most children fail to report to because they are not sure about the actual perpetrator and fear of being restricted from accessing the technological device. Collaboration between those key stakeholders will be essential since each will play a different role in eliminating the bullying vice. However, the respective Russian authorities fail to address the concern making it escalate to severe and uncontrollable scenarios. Russians do not have established laws or guidelines restricting the online abuse, but the vice is covered by other legislation like those against threat or murder. Although these laws are determined to protect people from online abuse, people are considered reluctant to report such matters to the right authority. For instance, people will not report cases of cyber-bullying to the police, especially if the situation will lead to an investigation of personal affairs. Therefore, online abuse in Russia can be considered a heterogeneous and complex issue to handle. However, the government created a vital guideline to control the internet and ensure online data are safely kept in servers.
In 2019, Russia established a law to enforce internet control and manage users’ traffic on the Russian web. According to the government spokesperson, the legislation would advance their cyber-security and established a sturdy firewall like the one used by the Chinese. Despite the effort taken by the government and other essential stakeholders to eradicate cyberbullying in schools, the issue remains controversial. Most schools are embracing the vice today, especially with the incorporation of advanced technology in society. Since most people consider it as a routine or culture, it is difficult to eradicate it entirely. Besides, School leaders and other government officials should discover and eliminate the motivators that fuel perpetrators to harassing others. In most Russian schools, perpetrators are depicted to be shy and spend most of the time online humiliating others. They exploit their jealousy and desire to belong in a specific group to attract the attention of the victim.
How should Russian address the issue of cyber-bullying, especially for the younger generation? This question has been debated by various scholars, scientists, school leaders, and other government officials, but a reliable solution to eliminate the issue is not outlined. According to Russian young individuals, one can evade the impact of cyber-bullying morally. In this case, the victims are not supposed to take the humiliation seriously. People who take the victimization too personal are likely to experience depressed mood, decreased performance, and reluctant to attending various places. Russian teachers only address the issue if the director of the school is aware of the trending vice. Although teachers could offer to advise students on the impact associated with bullying, other inter-generation discussions between the vice were considered to be rare. Increasing awareness both in schools and society will be a vital approach to eliminating the vice.
Ensuring people understand the impact of the harassment will make them more willing to report incidences. The states should also establish a bullying prevention center where bullies will be transformed, and the victim offered a mental therapy. Additionally, online monitoring activities can help in minimizing bullying activities primarily for the younger generation. Instead of restricting social interaction, parents and teachers should install software such as Pumpic software to assist in monitoring online activities, various apps including Twitter, Facebook, call logs, all deleted messages, and Instagram. Through this app, parents can effectively switch off the device if the child is engaging in bullying activities. Lastly, the Russian fraternity should engage parents, youths, and establish a positive climate that will foster approachable social interaction.
In conclusion, the growing popularity of social media and advanced technological devices has become requisite, especially to the young generation. Technological advancement has altered the existing norms concerning social interaction in the Russian community. Children lack understanding concerning various media mechanisms, and therefore not prepared to face other people’s opinions and critics. Although teachers and other government stakeholders have tried to mitigate the vice, most young people lack awareness and, therefore, unwilling to report the incidences to the right authority. According to UNICEF, cyber-bullying has led to increased suicidal cases among youths in Russia, making Russia be ranked third in the world. This vice is likely to cause depressed behavior, poor academic performance, and other aggressive behaviors. To eradicate the social issue, creating awareness is the most substantial step, to ensure more cases are reported and collective measures are undertaken.