Repeated studies and surveys show how most Indian teens are violating laws to relish the virtual world. Experts slam the system for failing to make kids aware about cyber bullying and online sexual abuse
Devyanshi Sharma made her last post on Facebook a few hours ago. She shared how she is excited to go out on a family vacation to Shimla in the coming weekend. Her ‘DP’ or display picture has got several likes from her friends. Everything seems happy-go-lucky on her profile except her age of 25, which in real, is just ten. Sharma, a student of class VI, is joined by almost half of her classmates who are successfully running ‘fake profiles’ on Facebook. They poke fun, indulge in arguments and even take ‘virtual conversations’ to their classrooms. But that’s not the case limiting to Sharma or her friends. The Facebook viral is running quite high among city teens. As per the recent survey by Assocham Health Committee, a high percentage of minors between the age group 8-13 is actively enjoying virtual life. Despite government’s strict norms that prohibit children under 13 from joining the social-networking site, nearly 73 per cent of children in tier-I and tier-II cities between the age group of 8 to 13 are using Facebook, reads the survey.
FB IS THE ‘IT' THING
One of the major reasons, as pointed out by DS Rawat, secretary general of Assocham for this increasing addiction is “the easy availability of technology with lack of parental supervision.” This easy access acts as a catalyst for the little ones to explore different options over the Internet resulting in them being caught within the nexus of cyber vices like cyber bullying and online sexual abuse.
“There is a desire to copy the adults and the younger children admire to mimic the older ones,” points out Aruna Broota, child psychologist. According to her, parents today don’t know how to prevent kids from going online. “Kids are wearing this ‘who cares’ attitude. They will do what you don’t want them to do. Ultimately, parents give up after a point and kids are freely using the social websites with fake profiles,” she says adding “Peer acceptance and the need to get a kick in social life attract teens to come on ‘FB’, not Facebook!”
IT'S BY mutual CONSENT
Reshma Gulati, who lets her 12-year-old daughter chats with her school friends online sees no harm in social networking as long as it is governed. “What’s the problem in itIJ I know what she is doing online. She ‘facebooks’ in my presence only. And we also have details of her account so we know where the wind is flowing. Stopping her from doing so would not serve any purpose as it might provoke her to do it in our absence,” she says.
The girl herself admits that she felt the need to go online to reach out to her cousins. “They all are away in different cities and few have settled down abroad as well. How else I can track what’s happening in their lives,” she says conceding her profile name is not real.
As per Facebook guidelines, no child below 13 can create an account. If reported, it is immediately asked to prove the age else the website shuts the account.
SENSITISE KIDS
Over 53 per cent of children in India have been bullied online, according to Global Youth Online Behaviour Survey released by Microsoft in 2012. In the survey, children were asked whether somebody was unfriendly or mean toward them on the Internet or if other children had made fun or teased them. “Protecting children from online bullying is a shared responsibility. Everyone plays an instrumental role including parents, educators, school counsellors, coaches, online safety advocates, industry, law enforcement, government and children themselves,” said Jacqueline Beauchere, director of Trustworthy Computing for Microsoft.
Agrees cyber expert Rakshit Tandon, who is presently working with Gurgaon Police on its Cyber Faith campaign in schools. He is stunned to discover that almost every student below the age of 13 is active on Facebook. “It’s not a healthy sign as the predators and stalkers are hunting for such kids, who have less understanding of the medium,” he says. Tandon has proposed ‘Cyber Congress’ to CBSE, which encourages schools to appoint cyber captains. “Every school has communities and a group of leaders. As per the idea, they should have a cyber group with a captain who can sensitise students about the cyber laws and keep a check on bullying among students,” he says.
(With inputs by Karan Bhardwaj and Pallavi Gupta)