Keep your kids away from Facebook

Beware of social predators on Facebook. The social networking website has turned into a platform for vicious taunts, blackmail and sexual harassment. Although the rules of the website clearly prohibit children aged under 13 years from accessing it; due to lax parental controls and unregulated net access to underage kids, an increasing number of school children are becoming victims of harassment, stalking and objectionable comments on Facebook.

• A Class VI student Nikitha complained to her principal that a person is harassing her on Facebook (FB) and posting lewd comments.

• “Someone posted a picture of me and my friend, commenting lesbians and bi sexual,” said Preethi, a Class VIII student.

These are only some instances that suggest the dark side of the social networking tool. A week ago there was a report saying that a 12-year-old committed suicide in the US, alleging harassment on FB. There was hue and cry from students as well as parents when a school in Bengaluru banned the use of FB by its students. Although social networking sites are quite helpful in connecting old pals and those separated by long distances etc., of late they have become a pain in the neck, especially for students.

Sexual harassment or motivated comments is just one side of the underbelly of social networking sites. The other and equally dangerous side of social networking sites is that teens and pre-teens easily become so addicted to games and postings on them that they have no qualms about wasting hours on end sitting glued to their PCs on internet or holding their smart phones, tablets, notebooks etc. Experts say lack of physical activity due to such obsessive interest in internet-based games and social updates affects the physical and mental growth of the children. Psychologists say that many teens and students who have FB account report harassment from peers and fellow users. This harassment is subjecting young minds to mental tension and finally culminating in suicidal thoughts. Teachers are advising students to leave FB as there are no proper laws in place to control such harassment. According to a recent survey, 25% of FB users in the city are students in their teens and most of them at one point or the other have been subject to slander, pestering, lewd and objectionable posts on the website. Experts say that these putdowns affect the mental health of the child.

Recently, the Delhi High Court ruled asking FB authorities to prominently display the rule that those under 13 years should not access it. The bench, consisting of Chief Justice BD Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bhakhru Tripathi, questioned the government of their action in this regard. In reply to the court’s ruling, the FB authorities said that an email account was mandatory is open an FB account. They also said that rules clearly stated that those under 18 years should access only friends in their groups, but not others.

Speaking to Hyderabad Hans, Sairam, a data security analyst, said, “There was no say on the age limit to access internet in the IT act of 2000 nor in the amendments made in 2008, in which they have included social networking sites. Technically under-13s shouldn’t access FB; parents should see to it that their children aren’t accessing. When it comes to objectionable posts, one can block the sender of the message. If there is a continuous harassment and creation of fake account, do report to a police station in the vicinity”.

“Last year, a 13-year-old girl committed suicide. Upon investigations, we found out that she was involved in an MMS scandal and the other guy involved befriended her through FB. Although there are rules that under-13s shouldn’t access FB, there is no mechanism to strictly implement that,” said Dhanya Menon, CEO of Avanzo Cyber Solutions & first female cyber crime investigator. “Many pre-teens are using FB and are being subject to lewd comments,” she lamented.

“Posting objectionable comments and fake ID creation are cybercrimes; if someone is subject to it, they should report it to the nearby Police Station. Parents should check that their children, especially under-13, aren’t accessing FB. Strict vigil on the part of parents is advised,” said U Rama Mohan, SP cyber cell.

“Under-13s aren’t mature enough. Harassment and sexual comments on their social networking pages lead to harmful effects. Coming across words like ‘gay’, ‘lesbian’ and ‘bisexual’ may either whet the child’s curiosity towards it or result in extreme behaviour in children,” said P Mohana Rao, a psychologist.

Some schools have started taking preventive steps. City-based Johnson Grammar School has sent an SMS to parents, asking them to keep an eye on their children so that they do not access FB. Chandrasekhar, Administrative Officer of the school, says: “FB is a quicker means of communication and it’s free. Anything that is free comes with a package of problems, FB is no less. As students, children are becoming addicted to FB.”

Children are compromising on values, wasting time and incurring the wrath of friends and the world. At what cost, is the question of the hour.

Since it is free and allows chatting – students get into unwanted gossip, which has proved to be dangerous and futile, leading to anger, jealousy and other negative traits that involve their so-called faceless friends. “FB undoes all that we do in school as teachers. The sanctity of being an innocent child is lost as young children become a prey to vicious attacks on social networking sites. Parents need to be aware of the online activities of their children,” Chandrasekhar.

Having an account on any social networking site has become a status symbol, though it is never a necessity for adolescents.

While giving freedom to children, teachers and parents need to supervise the healthy use of the internet as young students are exposed to matters that are far beyond their age.