Folks watch over their virtual young one

Children will not be torn away from the Internet.

Since that is a given, Mumbai parents are taking the pragmatic route of setting aside dedicated ‘www time’ for their children.

DNA’s survey shows that a majority of the children (55%) were allowed — or chose to spend — only 15-30 minutes online, and 33% spent about an hour online daily.

Ten per cent, like 10-year-old Shreya Suchak from Jamnabai Narsee School, complained that they needed more time on the Internet.

Parents seem more permissive of their child’s use of e-mail (69%) as opposed to the contentious zone of social networking reflected by the 36% social media use by children in the age group. Experts say that this also indicated that parents have been regulating what children could access in their internet time.

“When I grow older, my dad will allow me to create a Facebook account,” said 8-year old Yuhina Monga from Vibgyor High.
Those who do get the go-ahead choose to be on Facebook (73%) over Orkut(18%), as a reflection of the larger trends in social networking use worldwide.

Survey results tagged Facebook as the most popular site amongst children. This could be attributed to the fact that almost every popular school has a group on Facebook for students to interact and socialise outside of school.

When asked whether he had made his presence felt on any social networking site, 13- year-old Arnav Chauhan from Bombay Scottish school said, “Of course, I have an account; it’s on Facebook.”

It was also noticed that most kids were being educated about  how to safeguard their privacy with regards to photos and personal information. Several parents and teachers have started talking to kids on the potential dangers, from hacking to befriending strangers.

Oh, and three per cent of those surveyed are probably tweeting as you read this.