The Internet excites, entertains and shrinks the world. But hacking is not the only peril that haunts Internet users. It gets far more serious with bank frauds, sexual assault, blackmail, and suicide arising out of cyber abuse.
MTV, in association with Cyber Crime Awareness Society, presents its new show Webbed that deals with such cases. The 10-episode series features well-known faces from the Indian television industry. “It’s a great initiative to provide knowledge to the youth. In our country, cyber crime is taken lightly. What we don’t realise is the kind of stress and depression the victim of cyber abuse goes through. It’s very dangerous,” says Ritwick Dhanjani, one of the hosts of the show. According to him, minors who undergo a bad experience are not able to talk about it to anybody and end up committing suicide. And it’s not just women and young girls but also men who are targeted.
Citing a probable reason for the increase in such crimes Ritwick says, “This generation is tech savvy. When we were young, we spent a lot of time playing outdoors. Today’s children aren’t exposed to the outdoor world. They constantly live in the virtual world,” adds Ritwick.
The show will feature real-life incidents recreated for the viewers. It will also help viewers understand how to avoid such situations.
The data available with the channel shows that 2012 saw 47.9 per cent cyber forgery and 39.1 per cent cyber fraud being reported under the IPC category for cyber crimes. Under the IT Act, hacking (49.2 per cent) and obscene publication/transmission in electronic form (32.6 per cent) were the main crimes. A lot of crimes go unreported too.
Sana Saeed, another host, says, “ Webbed creates the much-required awareness. At 24, I am aware of what to do and what not to. But a lot of school and college students don’t know about the perils of Internet use.”
And has she ever had any unpleasant experience? “My Facebook account was once hacked. It’s something I am extremely attached to because my photographs are there. I was so upset that for three months I did not create another account. Imagine if something like this made me feel so terrible, how a person whose picture has been morphed or has been abused would feel,” she adds.
What’s her advice to Internet users? “You need to be more cautious before you click your picture, Instagram it and upload it on Facebook. Because you never know who, when and where is using the photograph.”
MTV Webbed airs Saturdays at 7 p.m.
