Net Safety For Teens

The internet has provided people with a new mode of communication. The digital system has broken down all physical barriers that come in the way of exchanging the ideas and delivering services to the citizens. Today social media and a variety of apps have become inseparable part of people’s daily life. While it has catapulted the society into another phase of evolution, it also equally poses a threat to family, society and country as a whole. Its growing abuse risks turning it into a new Frankenstein that brings a ruin to its own creator. Cybercrime is one of many such dangers that internet has generated. The people of all age groups are capable of harming their own fellow beings they dislike by abusing the multitudes of web platforms. 

What is more worrying is the rising number of young people being involved in the cybercrimes. Nowadays teens grow up playing internet games and venturing into online programmes. It has become a source of joys and thrill for them. Teens quickly learn the nitty-gritty of cyber world and develop the knack of using it for various purposes. The social sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram have become easy means for interacting with friends and establishing the close relations with each other. But, as their intimate bond turns sour, they start publicly insulting and blackmailing the friend-turned foes. They cross the limits and commit the cybercrimes and consequences of which they are not aware. Social media fraud, blackmailing, data breach/theft, harassment, identity theft and hacking are some common cybercrimes that the teens perpetrate.

Experts cite thrill of the challenge, financial greed, curiosity, ignorance and peer pressure as factors that lure the teens into violating the cyber norms and laws. Minors are both victims and perpetrators. According to the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police, the number of cybercrimes involving the minors is increasing every year. More than 176 teens' parents lodged cases at the Bureau in the fiscal year 2022/23, stating that their wards have become victims of the cyber offences. The number of such applications was 635 in 2024/25. In the current fiscal, around 68 parents approached the Bureau, seeking justice for their victimised juveniles. Young people instantly fall into love via social sites. Then, their virtual love reaches the extent of sharing innermost feelings and lewd conversations. 

Parents are lenient when it comes to giving mobile phones to their kids. But they do not know how the children are using the smartphones. A study has disclosed that children below 16 have been involved in sharing sexual messages, nude photos and videos. When their relations worsen, they threaten to publicise objectionable pictures, which eventually would land them into the police custody. Punishment that the teens have to face destroy their emotional health, study and future career. It is necessary to keep an eye on the internet behaviour of their kids. The teens need to be advised to protect their personal information safe and keep the predators at bay. Parents and teachers must educate them about ethical and legal rules of the internet use while warning them of severe consequences that the cybercrimes carry.