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Are you trusting strangers, being bullied, overexposing on Web?

Despite 80 pc of Indian youth being aware that their online activity can affect their identity, 92 pc have done or posted something risky online, shows a McAfee study

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Pratima Harigunani
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INDIA:  According to a new research, half (50 per cent) of the youth in India have had some experience with cyber-bullying (been cyberbullied online or witnessed others being cyberbullied), out of which one-third (36 per cent) have been cyberbullied themselves.

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This behaviour was perceived to result in anger and embarrassment, showcasing how online behaviour translates into offline impact.

McAfee, part of Intel Security, has released findings of its annual study, the Tweens, Teens and Technology 2014 report, which examines the online behaviour and social networking habits of Indian tweens and teens, and aims to educate on the impact that risky behaviour has on their privacy, reputation and social media experiences. The study highlights how risky online activity can possibly make them even more susceptible to cyberbullying, substantiated through some of the following statistics.

It adds that an eye-opening trend is that half (52 per cent) of India’s youth even access their social media accounts while at school, with tweens (57 per cent) being more connected during school hours than teens (47 per cent). Even though the minimum age to register to on social networking sites like Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, Tinder, Tumblr, and Vine is 13, 10-12 year olds report higher daily access to than their teen counterparts.

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In terms of caution on Internet, many tend to have posted their contact details like email, phone and home address, despite knowledge of the risk factors involved.

Youth are increasingly trusting unknown people in the virtual world, in spite of being aware that it is risky. Some 53 per cent have met someone in person that they first met online. And 63 per cent of youth do not turn off their location or GPS services across apps, leaving their locations visible to strangers.

Another critical concern stemming from peer pressure is youth feeling compelled to portray an untrue image of themselves online.About 64 per cent even admit to trying to reinvent their online personas making themselves appear older, creating fake profiles or posting photos that are not their own. Moreover, 46 per cent say they would put themselves in danger to see more engagement/ activity on their posts (e.g., more likes, comments, shares or retweets).

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Here, only 46 per cent say their parents have had a conversation with them about online safety. Others say their parents simply don’t care (52 per cent).

Melanie Duca, APAC Consumer Marketing Director, McAfee, part of Intel Security says, “Teens and tweens are very comfortable operating in the online world, yet the risks have never been greater. Young people are often the pioneers for new technologies so they need to understand the consequences of their online behaviour and how they can maintain their social engagement.”

Speaking about new-age parenting challenges, Anindita Mishra, McAfee Cybermum India said, “The findings of the study reaffirm that the online behaviour of youth needs much more involvement from parents than they are currently providing. As a result, I believe there is an urgent need for parents to update themselves on potential threats such as cyberbullying and become part of their children’s online experience to ensure they aren’t navigating alone through an unrestricted virtual world.”

“Internet-enabled devices collect information about online behaviour, track location and links to social media accounts which are vulnerable to threats that can disrupt devices and extract personal data leading to cyberbullying and identity theft,” said Venkat Krishnapur, Vice-President of Engineering- Consumer and Mobile, McAfee India Centre, McAfee, part of Intel Security.

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