If the student is under 18, parents should oversee his or her internet habits to stay tuned to their child’s lives.
At a recent event, Shazia Khan, the first runner-up of the reality series MasterChef India, season 2, created a stir when she compared children’s fascination for social networking websites such as Facebook to alcohol and drug addiction.
“I feel that the addiction to Facebook and the Internet is worse than the addiction to drugs and alcohol. Children spend hours online and even adults these days get addicted,” she said.
While some parents believe that such comparisons are carrying the point too far, they agree that Facebook will affect their children’s studies.
“It is very time consuming. Obviously, when our children spend more time on Facebook, they will dedicate lesser time to everything else, including their studies. The key is to make sure they don’t spend too much time online,” said Balwinder Singh, who has a Facebook account along with his daughter.
Dr Ananda Rao, clinical psychologist, agrees with Singh. He said parents should be taking a keen interest in their children’s Internet habits.
“Students can use Facebook and Internet, but it should only be done with parental guidance. In certain countries, parents are tech-savvy but the Internet is still new to India. Many parents do not know how to track their children’s browsing history. That’s why educational institutions and the media should educate children on the pros and cons of the internet and social networking,” he says.
He added that getting addicted to social networking is only natural because “it provides one with a human touch”.
“Naturally it’s addictive. Whenever we are alone, it’s nice to go on Facebook. You think about different ways of making more friends and it makes you feel less lonely. But if the child is under 18 years of age, parents should oversee his or her Internet habits,” he added.
Some people believe that not only does social networking affect students’ studies, but it also decreases their retention power.
“We see the academic performances of students is deteriorating, because they are spending so much time chatting on the Internet or on Facebook. They resort to last minute preparation and therefore there is not depth in their knowledge,” said Fr Roshan Lobo, principal St Joseph’s Pre-University College.
But he does not believe that colleges can curb the internet habits of students.
“When it comes to students, especially boys from class XI and XII, it’s very hard to change their habits. If you ban Facebook in school, they are going to use it all the more. It would be better if it were done at lower classes,” he said.
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