Every child must be protected from violence, exploitation and abuse on the internet. Kids today spend more time online than they did ever before. And they got here quickly. Every second, two children are going online for the first time in their life. Growing online offers unlimited opportunities.
Through computers, cell phones, game consoles and televisions, children learn, think and develop in terms of social media. If the internet is accessible to all and used properly, it has the potential to expand horizons and spark art throughout the world. But with these opportunities comes great danger.
Cyberbullying and other forms of peer violence can affect young people every time they enter a social networking site or an instant messaging platform. When browsing on the internet, children are more likely to be exposed to hate speech and violent content — including messages that encourage self-harm or even suicide. Children may also be at risk when technology companies violate their privacy in order to collect data for marketing purposes. Child-focused marketing with apps can jeopardise a child’s healthy development.
Peer Tehleel says,
“As children embrace more digital platforms, they too may self-generate sexually explicit imagery. And though these images might be intended for an age-appropriate relationship, they can end up widely shared without consent.”
Sometimes, trusted adults solicit children to share imagery. For a child victim, this may result in social isolation, mental health issues, substance abuse, self-harm or suicide, as well as an increased likelihood of exhibiting abusive behaviours themselves in adulthood.
Parents are urged to pay close attention to the signs of sexual abuse of their children. It comes after statistics showed an increase in online self-help and safety experts found that abusers targeted minors, with a sharp increase in content showing abuse of teens between the ages of 7 and 10.
Online abuse is any type of abuse that happens on the internet. It can happen to any device connected to the web, such as computers, tablets and mobile phones. And it can happen anywhere on the internet, including:
- Social media
- Messaging and messaging apps
- Emails
- Online chats
- Online game
- Live streaming sites.
Children can be at risk of being bullied online by people they know or by strangers through being active online or spending a lot more time playing online games. Nowadays, children like to play games online rather than enjoy and play them physically. It increases the chances of cyberbullying or harassment. According to the IWF, by 2021, the IWF took action against 252,000 URLs that contained images or videos of children being raped and sexually abused.
As our work and social life became digital during the Covid-19 epidemic, there was a dark and emerging trend — a huge increase in the number of people accessing child sexual abuse images online.
Dr Roy says young children have been relying more heavily on the internet during the pandemic, and spending too much time on the internet could expose them to criminal communities looking to find and trick children into recording their sexual abuse on cameras. This is how videos and images are being shared with other criminals through the internet. By 2020, there were 8,000 such cases. By 2021, there were 27,000 — an increase of 235% and the cases are simultaneously increasing.
The age group of 11-13 is still the largest group for which content is produced. By 2020, 55,300 reports have included self-help tools that include children in this age group. By 2021, 147,900 reports contained self-report items that include children between the ages of 11 and 13.
In some cases, children are trained or cheated to produce and share a pornographic picture or video when no adult is physically present in the room or around them. Some of these videos contain Category A content — a serious level of aggression that includes sexual intercourse.
Further on, Dr Roy says that the internet is an important tool for improving the lives of children, but asked for more help so parents can see and understand the dangers.
Devices can be an open door in your home and children may be at greater risk of falling into these traps. We know that if parents have a good or informative conversation with their children, it can make a difference, and it can be a lifelong painter because of this adjustment,
Signs Of Online Abuse
A child or teenager who is being bullied online might be facing these problems:
- They might be spending even more or less time than usual online, texting, playing or using social media.
- They seem annoyed after using the internet or sending texts for long.
- They hide who, they are talking to and what they are doing online.
- They have many new phone numbers, texts or email addresses on their mobile phone, laptop or tablet.
Dr Sangita shared an interesting story about a family that consists of three members, a 10-year-old child, his mother and his father. They used to have a pet cat, of whom they used to take videos and upload on Facebook. They even used to come Live. Children on their profile used to enjoy watching cat videos a lot.
One day, the child’s parents were taking a nap when the child was playing with his pet cat. He took out his mom’s mobile and started a live stream, just like his mom used to do it. The child showed the whole house on that live stream while various people were connected to that live stream at that time.
When her mom woke up, she was really shocked to see her whole personal life on display on social media platforms. Many people had already viewed the video and put them under threat.
Thus, it is important for parents to teach/guide their children about ethics, particularly digital ethics. Parents, carers and guardians must consider the exact nature of websites, their child’s understanding of online danger, and the likelihood of parents being able to reduce this risk.