With the Covid-19 pandemic making almost all of us, especially children, dependent on smartphones and the internet, it has become a key driver of social evolution, but there is a flip-side as it can expose us to a multitude of dangers.
Joy Grace Syiem of North East Network said although the internet has allowed people to have instant information and get access to banking and other allied activities at their fingertips, it has its disadvantages too.
“We cannot really know who is on the internet and there have been cases of fraud, abuse, harassment and cyber stalking,” Syiem said during an awareness programme on “Social Media & The Digital World: It’s Relevance and Impact”, organised by Sankardev College today at the Jaiaw Laitdom community hall.
She also informed that while giving their children their smartphones, parents should also know about child safety apps to make sure that it is safe for their children.
Syiem also called upon parents to limit internet time to their children so that they do not become robots even as she asked the gathering to encourage outdoor activities for their kids. She also called upon the parents to be aware of laws relating to the digital world.
Meanwhile, Pynursla Sub-Divisional Police Officer B Diengngan warned that through free wifi unscrupulous elements can get access into a person’s phone and steal information.
Diengngan also urged the gathering to not buy second hand vehicles through sites selling them before physically verifying them first, since he said that many times unsuspecting people have been duped through fraud.