From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
 
Panaji, Sep 25: An increased percolation of internet in Indian households demands more stringent parental monitoring of computer usage by the children, an expert body has said.

"Internet material may be pornographic, sexually explicit, offensive, hateful or violent and may encourage activities those are dangerous or illegal," Hyderabad-based centre for development of advanced computing (CADAC), says.

"Students, especially adolescents, are sometimes interested in and curious about sexuality and sexually explicit material," CDAC stated.

"They may be moving away from the total control of parents and seeking to establish new relationships outside their known circles," CDAC's handbook circulated during workshops on internet security awareness for teachers and parents, mentions.

"CDAC is holding unique campaign of creating information security awareness by holding workshops around 30 institutes like IITs, NITs and universities across the country," Dr V N Shet, an IT expert and coordinator for the workshop in Goa said.

Goa held the workshop last week in the capital city of Panaji wherein several parents and teachers participated in it.

The CDAC's handbook circulated during the workshop raises the concern that some students may also be attracted and lured by on-line offenders close to their age, who although not technically are child molestors, but may be dangerous.

"Neverthless, they can be seduced and manipulated by a clever offender and children may not foresee or recognise the potential danger of these contacts," Hyderabad-based institute says.

The experts who interacted with the parents and teachers in the workshop at Goa cautioned that uploading the information on social networking websites can make us more vulnerable for getting trapped in cyber crime.

"Parents should always keep a tab on children whenever they log into the system. Unknowingly, forwarding an offensive email from your account is also a crime," Dr Shet said.

Another IT expert, Dr Vijay Borges, said that the personal information uploaded on the social networking site can be misused to crack your email password.

"There is a possibility that you can get conned or be victim of cyber crime, if internet is allowed to be used by children without proper parental monitoring," he added.