Bullying, stress, digital exposure and a troubling teen transformation

A class 11 student of a school in Palakkad district, Kerala, was recently caught on camera threatening to kill his teacher in front of the school principal after the teacher confiscated his mobile phone.

Even before Kerala could process the shock of this incident, another tragic story emerged—the case of a 15-year-old boy from a school in Kochi, who allegedly suffered relentless bullying from his classmates. On January 15, he ended his life by jumping from the 26th floor of his apartment.

These two incidents serve as a reflection—or rather, as stark warnings—of the troubling transformations teenagers are undergoing. If ragging and bullying were once confined to college campuses, schools are now increasingly witnessing more vulgar and aggressive versions of such behaviour.

While many attribute this to the influence of the digital world, others blame the pressures of academics. However, experts point to a deeper underlying factor—the changing dynamics of parenting and the decline of moral values in society.

Although only a few cases of brutal ragging and bullying in schools have so far surfaced, experts in the field point out that these may be just the tip of the iceberg. There is also a tendency among schools to suppress such incidents to protect their reputation, which only exacerbates the stress on
victims, sometimes pushing them to take extreme steps.

Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Chairperson K V Manoj Kumar notes a rise in aggressive behaviour among teenagers after the Covid-19 lockdowns. “It seems the post-Covid stress within families is reflecting on children. The commission is even considering a detailed study on the issue,” he said.

According to Kumar, a key problem is the failure of parents and teachers to recognise, understand, and address their children’s basic problems.

“In one of the recent widely discussed cases, we found that the child had Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), but neither the parents nor the teachers had identified it. It seems to be the outcome of the diminishing parent-child and teacher-student relationships,” he explained .In the Palakkad incident, teachers were widely criticised for sharing the video of the student’s violent behaviour on social media instead of addressing the issue constructively. 

School managements too admit the fact that teacher-student relationships are not as strong as they once were but argue that parents are more responsible for this.

“There have been cases where parents address teachers disrespectfully in front of their children. Some well-educated parents have even insisted that teachers apologise to their children after blindly believing false narratives about classroom incidents. In such a scenario, it is no surprise that student-teacher relationships are diminishing,” said Indira Rajan, secretary general of the National Council of CBSE Schools.

She also emphasised that it has been a well-settled fact that the character of a child is moulded at his or her home. In most cases, students who face disciplinary issues lack parental attention. Primary caregivers, mostly mothers, are key figures in noticing even subtle changes in their children’s behaviour. “This is crucial these days, especially as drug mafias are targeting students. To address this, the council has initiated a programme to form groups of mothers at all 1,500-plus recognised CBSE schools in Kerala. A healthy interaction of mothers with their children is one of the best stress-busters for children,” she said. 

Child psychologists attribute rising aggression and diminishing tolerance among students to increased exposure to digital media and lifestyle changes.

Dr Jayaprakash R, a professor at the Behavioural Paediatric Unit at the SAT Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College, said that too much exposure to video games could create a sense of aggression and urge to win among children. It will affect their ability to negotiate, eventually leading to a tendency to go to any extent to win. Unrestricted access to the cyber world, which most children now enjoy, provides limitless options to fulfill desires by any means. Many children even imitate the brutal acts they see online, he said. 

He also noted that even upper primary class students are now requiring counselling due to persistent ragging and bullying.

“Children are now getting everything they need at their doorstep through simple processes. Whether it is food of their choice or even a book or pencil. This indeed affects the tolerance capabilities of children,”
said Kumar.

Advocate J Sandhya, former member of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, blames the changing behaviour of children on stressful academics. “Schools focus primarily on academic activities. Students go for personality development training after their schooling. That needs to change. Personality development should be integrated into the curriculum right from an early stage so that children develop the capability to understand what is good, and what is bad,” she said.

She also expressed scepticism about steps such as installing surveillance cameras in classrooms as a deterrent. “Instead of a coercive approach, a cordial approach could work better in addressing the issue,”
she suggested.

Experts also point out that the lack of an easily accessible forum for students in distress to confidently share their grievances is a reason for the mounting stress, leading students to take extreme steps. 

“If instances of ragging and bullying continue to rise, we also need to seriously consider setting up anti-ragging cells in schools as well,” said the chairman of the Child Rights Commission. 

Most students at the school level remain unaware of a host of telehelplines available for reporting abuse and seeking support.