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Bengaluru: Online sexual exploitation and abuse of children are growing, but only 43 per cent of parents repeatedly monitor their kids' screen time despite increasing threats, a study has found.
The pilot study 'Online Risks of Children in Karnataka, OSEAC (Focus on online sexual exploitation and abuse of children)' was conducted by ChildFund India in association with the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KCPCR).
Chamarajnagar, Raichur, Chikmagalur, Belagavi and Bengaluru were selected for the survey and over 903 school-going children between the age groups of 8-11, 12-14 and 15-18 were covered.
The study revealed that 5 per cent of children aged 15-18 reported feeling unsafe or embarassed online, with Meta's Instagram accounting for 77 per cent of such incidents.
Gaming platforms reflected equal levels of discomfort across age groups. The study found that 53 per cent of children reported the perpetrator was an unknown person, while 35 per cent indicated involvement of a known person and 12% experienced incidents involving both.
According to the study, social media use surged among older children post Covid, with "15% of children engaging with strangers online" facing "immediate harm".
Surprisingly, only 34 per cent of parents reported incidents to police, while 50 per cent chose to delete the chat history and blocked perpetrators' accounts. Only 43 per cent of parents reported frequently monitoring their children's screen time.
Recommendations
Open communication between parents and children about safe online behaviour and risks; develop age appropriate digital safety toolkits for both parents and children; make digital literacy online safety a compulsory part of the school curriculum; launch peer-led education programmes; train teachers and counsellors; strengthen school-based reporting mechanism; establish district level helplines and support centres; make digital safety education compulsory; and create Karnataka OSEAC Task Force
Highlights of the study
* Across all age groups, a significantly higher proportion of male children formed friendships outside of school compared to their female counterparts
* Friends emerged as key source for sharing secrets (30.5 per cent) and dealing with embarrassment (24.2 per cent)
* In the 8-11 age group, a majority of children turn to parents/guardians when happy or in trouble
* 90 per cent of the younger (8-11 and 12-14) kids and 99 per cent of the children between 15 to 18 year age group use mobile phone or laptops
* Personal mobile phone ownership rose significantly with age, with 2 per cent in the youngest group to 23 per cent in the 15-18 age group
* 72 per cent children continued to spend leisure time on social media after the pandemic
* 7 per cent of the time spent on studying reduced