Parenting vs social media: Keeping track of children’s screen time gets tougher

Chennai: Should parents keep a tab on their wards using the social media? Though the topic is debatable, going by the incidents of crimes involving teens, in some cases boys without exception, there should be some restrictions, argue experts.

A majority of the parents fail to monitor their teen’s social media. Though it has several good aspects, social media is not safe, especially for women, say cyber crime experts.

Using social media is one’s freedom but it is not completely safe, especially for women. “Soon after installing an app we are permitting those apps to accesses our location, gallery etc…Chrome browser helps manage employee activity in the cloud. These clouds are interconnected to your gallery so anyone can access your photos. Deactivating clouds will reduce 90 per cent of risks. But, avoiding contact with an unknown person is safe,” avers a senior police officer in the cyber crime branch, here.

Parents too have failed to be friends with their children, says the officer. He urged the parents not to allow walls to crop up between them and their wards.

His concern is not without reason. With the increasing penetration of cellphones and data pack, almost everyone is ‘hooked’ on to their mobile phones.

Once one steps into the cyber territory, there is no such thing as privacy or personal space for one, as each move that we do with the mobile, may emerge as a threat. For instance, morphing the pictures of girls and posting them on the social media with the girl’s personal number, is the latest technological intimidation several girls or even women face.

“We cannot say it is happening only for girls even boys have been affected in the guise of love affair or marriage. Sometimes our fear of failure or getting depicted in poor light, may turn out to to be an advantage of our tormentor. Though the police department and particularly the cyber crime branch, are there to help you, one should sense the threat and nip it in the bud,” the officer said. The best way to stave off the predators is to block the contact and avoid befriending strangers on social media, he advises.

Says physiatrist Dr. Shuba Charles, “Today’s technology makes the generation gap wider. Parents can’t imagine the suffering the child undergoes and she/he is e terrified to utter the truth. Under such circumstances, the affected person should take help from their peers.”