Chennai: Even as Facebook had mandated that only people aged 13 and above could use the social networking website, it has come to light that 70 per cent of tweens in India who use Facebook are aged less than 13. A study done by MacFee about tweens and technology in India also revealed that 92 per cent of tweens in Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata share their pictures on Facebook.
Releasing the study done among 1,000 tweens in the country’s Tier-I cities, Melanie Duca, consumer marketing director (Asia-Pacific), McAfee said that 86 per cent of kids interviewed had a social networking account and on an average Indian tweens used three or four internet enabled devices. A total of 68 per cent of kids used mobile phones to access the Internet.
“Even though kids predominantly use the personal computer or laptop to browse the Internet, 42 per cent access the web through a mobile device. About 31 per cent of kids above 12 years have met with a stranger in real life who they had befriended on Facebook. About 45 per cent of tweens access internet after 8 pm,” she said.
The study also portrayed how 49 per cent of the kids get frustrated when their parents set limits to access the web. Tweens between the age group of eight and 12 spend two hours a day online whereas teens spend 3.6 hours.
Another interesting point, which the study brought to light, is that 44 per cent of them use Skype to chat with their friends and others.
A total of 88 per cent tweens share their photos, 73 per cent upload family’s and friends’ photos, 59 per cent their information. The irony is that 25 per cent use their name as their password, 27 per cent use their birthday, 12 per cent had their friend’s name and 58 per cent had risky passwords.
The study also had some positive results, which would cheer parents. About 89 per cent of tweens use Facebook with their parents’ permission and 73 per cent ask their parents to be their friends.
“The situation is better in Australia as only 26 per cent tweens have a Facbook account, a mere seven per cent share their information online and only six per cent meet unknown FB friends in real life,” Melanie Duca said.
Next: Beware of cyber criminals: Experts
Beware of cyber criminals: Experts
Chennai: A couple of years ago, a group of Russian hackers morphed morphed the picture of a five-year-old daughter of a top corporate head honcho and demanded a ransom from him.
After intervention by both Indian and Russian governments with help from an ethical hacker the case was solved.
Cyber security experts and ethical hackers say the incident was just a tip of the iceberg but these kinds of cyber incidents still continue on social networking sites, like Facebook.
J. Prasanna, head (tech core), Cyber Security & PriÂvacy Foundation (CSPF), says that socially interested persons need to increase awareness among users about the potential threats they face in the cyber world. “We should not upload our photos nor reveal our identity onto Facebook, which could be utilised by hackers.
To safeguard the interests of the online community we at Cyber Security & Privacy Foundation have come out with a set of guidelines for people to use Facebook,” he said.
Pointing out that hackers target celebrities’ FaceÂbook and twitter accounts, Prasanna recalled some incidents where hackers took fans for a ride and later by the intervention of CSPF the hackers were put behind bars.
“We will soon be conducting a course about cyber security for end users as they are the important stakeholders in the chain,” he added.
Next: Tweens hit by FB mania
Tweens hit by FB mania
N. Arun Kumar/Uma Kanna
Chennai: With lack of digital literacy and parental monitoring, psychiatrists say they get more number of tweens addicted to internet for treatment, who go to the extent of committing suicide when they are denied internet access.
Citing a case of an eight-year-old boy who tried to commit suicide, Dr V. Jayanthini, retired professor of psychiatry at Madras Medical College, said the kid spent sleepless nights weeping for over three months and avoided discussions at dinner table.
“One day he even tried to commit suicide when his mother was sleeping next to him. His parents brought him for treatment and after spending much time with him I found out that he had downloaded pornograÂpÂhic content from InÂterÂnet as his friends tempted him to do so,” she said.
Dr Jayanthini added thÂat the kid felt guilty, as he had downloaded porÂnographic content, whiÂch made him to attempt suicide.
“Nowadays we are getting several such cases and kids are trying to learn about abortion without any medical intervention on the web. Even though Internet provides a lot of good content it also provides these bad stuff and so parents need to guide their wards,” she said.
Dr Lakshmi VijayaÂkuÂmar, psychiatrist and founder of Sneha, adds that there were three reasons why children get addicted to Internet. “First, when kids have any difficulty in school they go online.
The next is those who have difficulty in socio situation and if their parents get into quarrels daily, children prefer social networking sites,” she says.
Dr Lakshmi also observed that introverts and those who find it difficult to interact prefer internet as they feel it’s safe to interact without getting hurt.
