Online classes have been the norm for school and collegestudents in the time of the pandemic. That’s going to continue till normalclasses commence, which in all probability will not be any time soon. Hencechildren spend more time on the internet for online classes. However, likeevery modern invention, the internet has a good and bad side to it -- there aredangers like cyberbullying and sexual exploitation. Children could also bevisiting unwanted sites viewing prohibited content. The Directorate ofEducation (DoE) has asked schools to make parents and students aware of thedangers of cyberbullying, sexual exploitation and other such crimes throughonline means and ways to overcome it. Institutes have been asked to sensitizeparents by reaching out to them online. The guidelines issued also call forparents and students to create a ‘strong’ password and frequently change it andnot to share it with anyone. Parents also need to keep a watch on the sitestheir children visit on the internet. There are also several parental controlapps available for parents to monitor their children as they browse through theinternet. Children need to be protected from potentially harmful onlineactivities.
