Children in India are more likely to view movies and TV shows on streaming services than post content on social media according to a report released by Kaspersky Lab Solutions on Monday.
Kaspersky monitored the online activities of about 60,000 Indian children between June and mid-August this year. The data was gathered through Kaspersky’s parental control feature, which records the content children search for, but restricts them from accessing them. Kaspersky compiled statistics of all such content, including adult content, violence, weapons, religious associations, alcohol, narcotics and news media.
The report stated, “Among Indian children, 0.19% people searched for alcohol and narcotics, 2.81% for adult content, 3.06% for computer games, 6.26% for news and media, 13.80% for electronic communication, 40.68% for communication media and 2.92% for other content.” The report added, “Students view videos and movies on streaming sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime and listen to music on streaming services like iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify. Children also watched content on YouTube, particularly videos posted by YouTube star PewDiePie, who boasts a subscriber count of over 60 million. They are also playing games like Fortnite and PUBG.”
Balsingh Rajput, Superintendent of Police, Maharashtra Cyber Crime, said that parents should keep an eye on what their children view on the internet. He said, “Now, there are many ways for children to gain access to various kinds of movies and shows, which could have a profound impact on them. The rise of deadly games like Momo and Blue Whale challenge is also an issue. Even if they hide behind a Virtual Private Network, which allows them to mask their Internet Protocol address, the content they watch will still affect them.”
Mr. Rajput said though the number of children looking up drugs and alcohol online was minuscule, the cyber cell was taking the findings seriously. He said, “We have an online portal where people can report cyber crimes and victims of online challenges. We have encouraged our officers to make parents and teachers in their jurisdiction aware of the perils on the internet.”
