After strangers, schools fear predators on the net

It all started on January 23 with a mail from SunshineWorldwide School’s Principal Anil Kashyap to parents of the students studyingat his school. It said, “it has recently come to light that your childrenare/might be using Facebook and other social networking sites indiscriminately,accepting friend requests from individuals they have never met before. We as aschool are highly concerned about this behaviour taking into account recentatrocities taking place in and around our state.”  Kashyap’s alarm was natural fallout of therape of the 7 year minor in a Vasco school, where a stranger walked into ahighly secure school with ease and molested a girl in broad daylight.  After strangers walking into school, it ispredators on the net tracking naïve school students that has woken up schoolauthorities.

“A lot of teenagers have facebook accounts and that fact iseven more disturbing as they are easily flattered. As for children having fakeaccounts on facebook in school computer labs, I don’t think they are allowed togo on the internet without supervision.” says Manisha Chadha who was aghast tosee her 10 year old daughter’s friends having Facebook accounts. The fact thata school management steps in to remind parents that their wards may besusceptible to online predators raises disturbing questions as to how safe ourschools are much beyond the walls, security guards and CCTV gateways. A schoolpointing out that its students might be operating Facebook accounts andliaising with scrupulous elements raises more serious issues.

While the Constitution of India calls anybody over the ageof 18 - an adult, Facebook finds them adept to handle peer pressure at 13 yearsitself. “It is even more of a concern as the Facebook policy is 13 years andnot 18 years. As a school we expressed this concern to Facebook 2 years ago,”says Margao based The King’s School’s Director Ligia Pereira. King’s school’scounsellor holds educative sessions on the use of Facebook for students andparents. While parents and teachers may be screening their children’s internethabits while they are on personal computers and laptops, a new menace theproliferation of smartphones and basic phones with a Facebook key makesscrutiny virtually unmanageable. How much can we then police our kids?

The Goan asks every father and mother in Goa if they areaware that their children may be susceptible to online predators through socialnetworking sites.