When the mode of learning was forced to go virtual two years ago following the closure of educational institutions to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, the primary complaint was learning loss caused by the digital divide. The poor could not afford to buy gadgets to access online lessons while students in hill stations and remote areas faced slow internet speed or no internet at all. These complaints have gradually waned but online safety has become a matter of concern across the world today due to the mounting use of internet by children and young people either on the devices of their family members or of their own. Students heavily rely on internet to access online lessons and for school projects. This growing dependency on cyberspace has led to an unprecedented increase in unsupervised screen time among children, exposing them to the good, the bad and the ugly. Are the parents aware of what their young children do with gadgets? Do they monitor their screen time? Accessing educational content via online is a necessity with schools being forced to close due to the pandemic and this trend may continue even after getting back to classroom learning. However, parents should know that their children have greater risk of online child sexual exploitation, peer pressure, cyberbullying, fatal online challenges that promote self harm, etc. if their screen time is not checked. Experts have warned that online violence can have negative impact on the education and well-being of children. Reports have indicated that social media platforms are also unsafe as cases of sexual predators and traffickers exploiting young people, especially girls after befriending them are increasing. This calls for concerted efforts from the society, law enforcing agencies, parents and learning centres to keep innocent children away from predators and scammers lurking on internet.
The fact is that even adults are falling victim to fraudsters, and with Valentine’s Day just a few days away, people are being warned of the “romance scam”. Children and teenagers are surely more vulnerable to fraud and online violence. Parents should not depend completely on content filters to keep their children away from violent and vulgar content. Just monitoring their online activities is not enough. Children should be taught about safe online behaviour like not sharing sensitive personal information, photos, etc. with strangers on the internet, including social media. This has become as important as road safety because this information highway is unsafe not only for young people but also for adults. Young people should be empowered with the knowledge to identity online violence and protect themselves from predators. Educational institutions and teachers also should involve in educating children about online safety. Keeping children safe is everybody’s responsibility.