Parenting in the ‘Cyber World’

Disclaimer: The article is authored by Mr. Murali Rao, Cybersecurity Consulting Leader, EY India.

Parents today have an unenviable task – bringing up children in a world where cyberspace is all encompassing, which brings with it not just empathy and respect but also danger, conceit, and deceit. No parent can avoid exposing their child to the digital or cyberworld in the current environment. And while the digital world or cyber space is a source of immense positive influence, it also exposes the child to digital personas who are not benign.

The digital personas are omnipresent in the child’s digital world and they heavily influence the child’s choices in terms of digital content. A malicious digital persona can expose the child towards inappropriate digital content and harmful URLs and can steal sensitive information and invade the child’s privacy.

Parents need to be educated on the potential pitfalls to ensure that their kids are appropriately advised, shielded, and defended from these personas and their influences. Good parenting involves providing the right lessons, the environment, and the social ethos to ensure that the young ones have the right and appropriate inputs to shape them into good human beings. But in today’s digital world, focusing solely on the family and social ethos is not enough – it is also critical to learn, embrace, and imbibe the ‘Cyber Space Ethos’ as well.

India has one of the youngest populations globally with an average age of 29 years. Over a quarter of its population – 25.78% to be precise – falls in the 0-14 age group. Almost another two-thirds – or 62.5% – is in the 15-59 age group. While this is great for India’s economic growth, the young and large population is also very malleable to digital influences.

The millennials (23-38 years age group) and Generation X (39-54 years age group) are busy exploring the possibilities and benefits of the digitized world. The digital revolution has opened up hitherto unimaginable possibilities for individuals, businesses, and the government. In this enthusiasm what is getting lost is the need to educate ‘Generation Z’ (7-22 years age group) and future generations from becoming vulnerable because they lack the maturity of the Millennials and Gen X. Of course, the question then arises as to whether even the entire older generation is fully aware of the dangers of the digital world and cyber space.

• Do the parents know enough?
  
• Are they aware of the implications for their young ones from the cyber space?
  
• How does one enable parents to protect and defend their loved ones from criminals, stalkers, molesters, fraudsters, influencers (appropriate or inappropriate) etc., in the cyber space?

Assessing cyber awareness and cyber safety knowhow among the millennials and gen X is probably the need of the hour. It is time that we as cyber enthusiasts take a lead in this journey. The key to this education lies in identifying the ‘Influencers’ and the ‘Drivers of the Influencers’. For example, the government is the driver for the corporates as the influencer. The corporates are in turn the driver for the consumer as the influencer. The courts are the driver for India’s population for their rights.

The pillars of the Indian or the global society need to understand the paradigm shift required to bring in ‘Cyber Space Ethos’ or ‘Cyber Cultural Ethos’. The governments, judiciary, corporates, enterprises, service providers, media/Press, law enforcement agencies, educational institutions etc., have to take the lead. Cyber security of children is probably one of the most critical aspects that needs to be governed, monitored, and enforced, and which would have a telling effect on future generations.