Sundari Nanda at AIMA’s LeaderSpeak Session
While parental guidance for children consuming the Internet is essential, “balancing the use of technology” has become the need of the hour for the authorities, said Ms. Sundari Nanda, Special Commissioner, Delhi Police at AIMA’s LeaderSpeak Session.
AIMA Aspire had organised its 3rd #WomenSpeak Session on the theme- ‘The impact of technology on society with a focus on children & young adults’. Having been in the Police Force for over 25 years providing leadership of a high order, Ms. Sundari Nanda, Special Commissioner, Delhi Police is also known to take a principled professional stand on public interest issues, and she was rightly qualified to deliberate the Session.
Ms. Sundari Nanda started off by saying that while easy access to the smartphone has brought information to our doorsteps, it has also opened the floodgates for newer vulnerabilities for young people.
She also cited various instances to support her address on the same subject. While the world is at the mercy of digitisation for information and knowledge, it has also triggered cyber-crimes of myriad natures.
She spoke about how during the peak of Covid, people resorted to cyber scamming posing as Oxygen Cylinder suppliers, and that way a lot of scamsters made money through illegal means.
Besides that, the world hears of spouses being addicted to pornography and couples being divorced. There have been so many instances of schoolboys slyly shooting intimate moments with their girlfriends and soiling their reputations. She also added how morphed pictures have been making rounds on WhatsApp, which have assassinated the characters of many young people, especially young girls.
Children now are so addicted to the Internet that their outdoor activities have become minimal. They need the Smartphone even while having their meals, and in a way, the parents have given them leeway too. The parents, however, have to be alert as the children may fall prey to resorting to the dark web, which is a den of criminal activities and pedophiles.
“It has become difficult for authorities to prepare the demographic dividend,” she said. However, “balancing the use of technology” has become the need of the hour, she added.
Parental guidance for children consuming the Internet is mandatory. However, there is a dire need for Cyber Sensitisation Courses, which she herself was a part of, that were conducted in various schools in Delhi.
Lastly, the advice that she had for parents to monitor their children without spoiling the essence of the motive was by balancing technology at home, having as many conversations with them and solving their queries about digitisation. She further said that “communication with your children is the key to address the matter at home”.
Watch the full Session- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fFdilTTyD8
