Articles

Cyber Safety Tips For Teens

Internet is one of the most common and convenient sources of gathering information, keeping oneself updated and most importantly, Communicating effectively.

As the world is becoming more and more tech-savvy, the young generation has been exposed to media and apparently, has been affected by it the most. Internet is an infinite library to which every individual nowadays has an easy access, an access that can also pose hazards. For example, an 8yr old might do an online search for "Lego." But with just one missed keystroke, the word "Legs" is entered instead, and the child may be directed to a slew of websites with a focus on legs — some of which may contain pornographic material. Similarly, when we surf on the internet, random sites tend to open up simultaneously without any of our action or intention. These sites generally are chat rooms for strangers expecting more than just friendship. They might be video calling sites or even adult sites.

As in case of teenagers, it is very common for them to use internet for private communication – blogs, chat rooms and social networking sites such as facebook or orkut. This obviously, posses an ever present threat of sexual harassment or cyber bullying. Adolescence is a phase in which one’s curiosity is at the peak and wishes to explore the most out of the resources they have at hand. Internet, being one of those resources tends to get exploited in such a way that teenagers might find themselves an emotional or more often, a sexual relationship with strangers they meet online. These relationships might include exposure to pornography, being asked to discuss sex online or do something sexual, or requests to disclose personal information. Most of these flings have a rough and an unpleasantend which sometimes has adverse effects on the kids involved. Failure of such relationships hampers a person’s self-esteem and confidence and highly affects an individual’s mental health. For example, after initiating an online nonsexual relationship with a child or an adolescent, a person might build trust, and seduce his or her partner into sexual acts or even sexual molestation if the personal information has been revealed.

Of late, it has also been noticed that usage of adult websites and the reach to pornography has escalated at a considerable rate amongst the young generation. Now, what is wrong if an adolescent is exposed to pornography? This is a very common question which comes to most of our minds. Many people have a say that eventually these kids will experience watching sexual movies or videos or going through adult rated magazines and on the top of it, they have mobile phones through which they get straight access to such stuff, so what is the need to stop them now? Well, if young teens are exposed extensively to sexual information or practices at an early age, their urge to try or carry out what they see might be a matter of worry. As most of the beliefs and values are learnt during the teenage, it is necessary to ensure a healthy upbringing of a child. If exposed much, they are most likely to perceive a girl/boy as a sex object and respect might shed for the opposite sex. Also, if a teen fails to find a suitable partner, the sexual frustration might come in between as the urge grows stronger and affect the healthy functioning of the person which can result in violent activities or even sexual molestation.

PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES

After interacting with quite a few teenagers, it was a surprise to know that there lies a much visible communication gap between the parents and children regarding their child’s virtual activities.

 Studies find that teens at the greatest risk for online sexual solicitation are teens with major depressive symptoms or who have experienced negative life transitions (moving to a new neighbourhood, a death or divorce in their family) are especially vulnerable. Also, teens who use the Internet more frequently, for four or more days a week at two or more hours a day are the ones who explore more. 

 Adolescence is a phase where most of the times, a child goes through an intrapersonal fight majorly due to peer pressure and moral values which generally parents inculcate in their children. To ensure the strength of a child’s moral values, it is necessary to

• bridge the gap, talk and know more about the child’s thoughts,

•  tell them what’s ethical and what’s not by empathizing and being a friend to them,

• ask what s/he learnt while they were on the internet,

• what was their search about and how will they go about it.

 All these questions will bring transparency between the parents and a child’s virtual habits to some extent. Further, by being a friend to them, the child gets an assurance that there will be someone to whom they can turn to when things go wrong. For instance, If your child ever gets involved in a chat room conversation that makes him/her feel uncomfortable or in danger for any reason, they will come to you directly so as to further report the incident.