Couple of weeks ago, my daughter got a school assignment to write a short note about online abuse. While researching the topic, I happen to come across a report that stated 86% of Indian children who access social media are abused online. As a parent, that horrifies me! The fact this is more than twice the global average of 37% makes things even worse.
👉Does the fact that we teach our children to be more polite toward strangers makes them a soft target?
👉OR is this a post-Covid impact that made kids depend on online platforms in the absence of physical teachers?
👉OR is this plain case of FOMO among kids that makes them join the internet community too soon?
Like many other parents, I won’t be able to keep my child safe in a cocoon away from the social media blitz for very long. The fact that unlike our generation, today’s kids are smart and strongly opinionated doesn’t make things any less complicated.
The struggle is real but unfortunately, that’s only for parents. I wonder why does our education system not share the responsibilities of raising kids who are ready to face the world? Why do we still focus primarily on academic education supported by a tinge of extracurricular activities to make it sound like “all-round development”?
I helplessly watch as my own child, who is in middle school, crams for exams with little time, effort, or desire to practice real-world skills. While this is a hard reality of the education system in India I wonder if things are significantly better in any other country.