Online harassment of children

A global study on online behaviour by children aged between 12 - 18 has been made public by the global mobile phone company Telenor recently. The survey found that nearly half (49 per cent) of children having access to the internet in Bangladesh have faced bullying, during interaction online, particularly on social media. It is natural for teenagers to portray themselves as hip and trendy, but often this leads them to behave in a manner that is neither proper nor gracious.

An unwitting child, uninitiated in online safety will inevitably fall prey to such behaviour. Six out of 10 Bangladeshi respondents stated that they can handle themselves when faced with a negative situation, which still leaves 40 percent who do not know how to cope with such a situation. As a service provider, Telenor, like any other telecom company, has plans to deploy an array of tools to make online experience as safe as possible. But one simply cannot overlook the fact that parents and school authorities have a major role to play here.

At the end of the day, it is the responsibility of parents and teachers to oversee that those underage children do not have access to certain sites which are inappropriate for that age group. And it is not only about blocking access, it is about having frank discussions about why certain areas should be avoided. Children need to understand the difference between safe and unsafe and only when that message is properly explained will online safety be truly effective.