Promoting Online Safety

Abstract

Social media offers great power and potential to all kinds of users, and it is not free from threats and risks that come along with the adoption of new tools and innovations. There is cyber stalking, sexting, bullying happening substantially. Anonymity of the virtual world has contributed to online harassment and lack of awareness. This research assesses the awareness and perception of female college students of Indian universities. The opinion of senior government officials in regulating social media to improve cyber resilience is sought. Using judgement sampling technique, 463 responses were collected through questionnaire method. The majority of respondents perceive social media as a useful place for infotainment. There is awareness however that respondents don't want to limit themselves and they are open to posting pictures, tweeting, commenting on unknown posts. Among many online platforms, incidence of cyber harassment is high on social media platforms. The main contribution of this study is to emphasize the need to treat cyber behaviour as a foundational course in today's parallel world.