Representative image of social media usage.
Credit: iStock Photo
Mumbai: Maharashtra has the highest rate of internet consumption among children, according to Child Rights and You (CRY), the child rights NGO.
According to a study conducted by CRY, POCSO and Beyond: Understanding Online Safety during COVID, 2023, Maharashtra figured with the highest average of internet consumption across all the age groups followed by West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and then Karnataka.
When examining specific age demographics, adolescents (14-18 years) were found to have the highest internet usage, followed by adults (above 18 years), and then children (6-14 years).
Notably, children in Maharashtra (6-14 years) showed a higher average usage compared to their counterparts in other states.
The study also highlighted marginal variations in average internet consumption based on gender across different age groups, with a distinct difference observed in Maharashtra among children aged 6-14 years.
During the workshops, both boys and girls confessed experiencing cyberbullying and receiving friendship requests from unknown individuals online, particularly on the Snapchat app, which appears to be more popular than Instagram or Facebook.
The campaign to date has covered 12 states and 23 cities with around 788 volunteers involved in the process.
The objective of the campaign is to build awareness and encourage safe and responsible use of information on the virtual/cyber world in school going children.
In a statement, Kreeanne Rabadi, Regional Director, CRY West, said that children spend a large amount of their time online and it is crucial to make them aware of the pros and cons of it.
“Online safety is the most crucial aspect of child protection and we need to ensure that our children are made aware of the dangers in this area. Children today spend a majority of their time online and often at times may end up being victimized without them knowing it themselves. Such workshops enable them to remain aware and cautious of the same and at the same time being aware of protecting their personal space,” she said.
In Maharashtra, CRY has also partnered with students from the National Social Services (NSS) who have been in visiting schools across the state and holding workshops with students from Class 5 to Class 9 to create awareness on issues related to cybercrimes like phishing, cyber bullying, identity theft, false advertising, cyber grooming, cyber trafficking and online gaming.
Over 20,000 students have already been part of the campaign and the numbers are growing.