Be wary of the very internet we need

 There is a reason some things are accompanied by age limits. But technology has changed the normal way of doing things so that family units are not as they ought to be. Parents and children are usually engrossed in their own activities mainly to do with social interactions with people outside the homes through social media. It is no wonder youngsters get exposed to things beyond their ages because supervision is

 minimal or none at all.

Watching a crime documentary the other day, I learnt the adverse effects of using the internet, especially when one is young and naïve. While everyone is prone to victimisation, girls are particularly prone because of sex predators who spend endless times on their key pads searching for vulnerability. And because parental control and guidance is limited with access from anywhere, girls fall prey in the name of love.

This crime story was about a girl who was murdered following a sexual assault. And during investigations, police uncovered her online correspondence with a man who eventually asked to meet her in person. It was at the meeting that the crime was committed. The 16-year-old never imagined brutality at the hands of the 30-year-old. She believed to have met her true love and with all the charm and sweet talk, she plunged right to her death.

Our Soul story on page 6 ‘Cyberbullying, child pornography are real’ gives an overview of the reality on the ground. We are in a global village and whatever happened to the 16-year-old in the documentary can happen here. As the theme: ‘Digital Generation; Our Generation’, indeed internet does have its flip side. Criminals have upped their games by using the same to abuse girls and even share information and materials unfit for the juveniles. And while murder is not always the ultimate, girls are exposed to pornography or coerced into the act, thereby infringing upon their rights.

And while Machinga District Commissioner, Rosemary Nawasha wants NGOs to provide internet access to girls in our Brains story on page three, ‘Avail internet to girls’, this should be done cautiously. Her concerns are legitimate as indeed internet has become a part of our lives, providing answers at our fingertips. Nonetheless, it has also become an object of concern.

So, from the two schools of thought that have been paraded on pages three and six, we need the internet as a part of our lives in a digital evolution. However, this area of technology ought to be treated with care because it has attracted its own criminality targeting young girls. Where possible, monitor such activities in your children. If not directly on the gadgets, monitor their day-to-day behaviours and changes in the same. They can give hints about what is going on and stop a crime. They could be bullied, introduced to pornography or fall victim to sex trafficking.