India seems to be a land of online bullies.
The country has recorded the highest rate of children falling victim to cyberbullying in 2018 so far, a survey conducted in 28 countries by the UK-based consumer tech review firm Comparitech showed.
Instances of cyberbullying in India have accelerated this year with over 37% of parents admitting that their children have become victims at least once, which is 15% more than in 2016.
“Indian parents remained among the highest to express confidence that their children were cyberbullied at least sometimes, a number that only grew from 2011 to 2018,” the report said. “Across Europe and the Americas, it also appears more parents are either becoming aware of their children’s negative experiences with cyberbullying, or their children are increasingly experiencing such attacks online.”
Comparitech based its findings on a total of 20,793 interviews conducted among adults aged 18-64 in the US and Canada, and adults aged 16-64 in all other countries. The interviews were done between March 23 and April 6.
The US appears to be staving off cyberbullies, with 26% respondents saying their child has suffered bullying online in 2018, compared with 34% in 2016.
Russia had the least number of cyberbullying cases reported at 1% of respondents in 2018. In 2016, this figure stood at 9%.
This article first appeared on Quartz.
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