Pune:
Each time Viren Gehani faces problems with his homework, he simply logs on to the Internet. In his free time, he likes to log on to social networking sites and play games online. From pursuing hobbies to playing games to completing their school projects, it's all done at the click of a mouse for today's teenagers.
Gehani, a standard IV student of The Bishop's School, prefers to keep in touch with his friends online. "I created my gmail account four months ago. I regularly keep in touch with my friends and parents by sending them a mail about my whereabouts. When I want to watch any football match I watch it online," he says.
Gone are the days when children loved to play outdoors. Nowadays instead of playing games like hide-and-seek they like to update their status messages on Facebook and sometime even tweet and follow the celebrities.
Vedant Pathela, who is just 11 years old, has an account on Facebook. "My brother was on Facebook so I also joined it. Earlier, I used to play games on it but now I go online and keep in touch with my friends," adds Pathela.
His mother, Meenu Pathela keeps a tab on her children whenever they are online. "In a way, it's good because children become aware of computer terminology at an early age. He always scores full marks in computers. If parents keep an eye on their children, then I don't think there is any harm in accessing the Internet."
Psychologists, however, have varied views on early and extensive exposure to the cyber world. Viraj Darode, a clinical psychologist, says children's perceptions are fast changing. "Instead of going outside to play they are constantly hooked to the computers. They are there on all the social networking sites and regularly update their statuses. They are going away from the reality and are actually living in the virtual world. Parents should check what they are up to whenever children use the net. There should be a limit on the usage as excessive usage can make them addictive," he says.
"Early exposure to anything can take children away from reality. After attaining a certain level of maturity and judgment power they can access the Internet. Sometimes it is seen that they just download stuff and don't even read it once. Limited access with close supervision for only academic purpose is fine for children," says Madhavi Kapoor, principal, Aman Setu School.
Seema Darode, a child psychologist doesn't write off the need for the Internet in a child's life. "Internet is also a source of information like books, so there is no harm in accessing the Internet. Parents understand their children well and if the usage is for gaining some information.
Sandy Dias Andrade, another psychologist and a mother says, "Sometimes learning which happens due to social interaction goes missing when you start living in the virtual world. But at the same time children can access a lot of information through the Internet."
She adds, "Children cannot refrain themselves by getting influenced to the cyber world but parents should ensure that they don't hurt themselves by becoming cyber bullies."
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