Tips for safe Internet Usage for youngsters | Saurabh Nanda
Text from this article was also used by Amar Ujala.
The Lockdown in 2020 changed our regular habits, we had to let more screens in our lives for education, work and recreation. Screens today are inescapable and increasingly impacting us physically, emotionally and professionally.
Many studies conducted by medical professionals and industry researchers have found that the screen time has increased by 80–100% among teens and tweens especially after the Lockdown last year. This has been fuelled by not only the need to go online for work and education but also the cheap mobile data available in India. According to the Ericsson Mobility Report from 2019, Indians used 12GB data on their smartphones per month — highest in the world.
Such drastic change will lead to its fair share of repercussions. And no one is more affected than our school going children. I want to share with you tips for using electronic devices and the internet to keep yourself mentally and physically safe. I share these tips regularly in many webinars I take at schools across India and the Middle-East.
1. Beware of Unconscious Scrolling
Remember the last time when you were scrolling on your screen but not really aware of what you were looking for? That is called unconscious scrolling. Many studies have shown that we spend 1–2 hours daily on just scrolling away on Facebook or Instagram or Linkedin. This might feel relaxing and distracting but it is not. You are not allowing your mind and emotions to be relaxed and this becomes more acute if you scroll social media before sleeping. You should be conscious about what kind of content you are consuming and use social media by being ‘present in the moment’. There are several advantages of conscious scrolling such as better time management, improved quality of content consumption and increase in ‘food for thought’ which makes us question and reflect.
2. Learn to Identify Fake News
Fake news is an online pandemic. Indians being the largest users of WhatsApp and Facebook in the world also use such platforms for a large amount of their news. Social media can not always be trusted for accurate information. There are 2 types of fake news you need to be aware of — 100% fake news and partially fake news. So some of the tips to keep yourself safe from fake news are -
- Verify the source of the information. Websites ending with ‘.offer’ and such are not reliable sources.
- Read the entire article and not just the headlines.
- Question the content, be critical.
- Check the author — search the internet for more information about the author, his credentials and other body of work.
- Look for references and supporting sources provided in the article/video. Ask if others are reporting the same story in the same manner or not.
- Examine all the facts — dates, events, pictures
- Images can be fake and photoshopped — jokes can also be considered news, beware.
- Check your biases — read more from experts in the field. Make use of the internet to empower yourself with knowledge and not baseless opinions.
3. Responsible Media Consumption
Today, more than ever, we need to listen to others with views different or contradicting ours. So it is important to look at all sides of the argument. Improve the media you consume — from the news outlets to influencers to thought leaders and politicians. Report misinformation, change your feed to positivity and liberal progressive views. Good media will positively impact your views about sexuality, body image, diversity, and self-esteem. Shun those outlets which propagate negativity without facts. Take control of your media content!
4. Rationing Video Games time
Video Games today are so advanced and so much more nuanced than before. Video games help today’s internet generation in stress relief and mood improvement. They are also associated with improving cognition like reaction times and multi-tasking. Video games also allow people to connect with other like minded people from around the world. Video games and gamification are also a booming industry with careers in programming, gamification of education, design and more.
But, excess of video games leads to more screen time and exposes one to all the associated side-effects. Learn to ration your time on video games to less than an hour a day.
5. Beware of Excessive Screen Time risks
Excessive social media usage has been related to increase in anxiety, depression, and teen suicides all over the world. Please limit your usage. According to a World Economic Forum collated report on screen (mobile, computer, tv etc) and social media usage among teens and its relation to mental health, teens who use social media for less than 2 hours a day have better mental health. While teens who get involved in arts and sports have better life optimism and satisfaction.
According to a survey done in 2016–17 by Dr Ilamparithi and Dr. Selvakumar from Thanjavur Medical College, it has been found that Indian youth in both urban (~7 hours) and rural India (~3.5 hours) had much higher usage than the prescribed 2 hours. Such excessive usage can lead to less sleep, bad quality of sleep, hyperactivity, inattention, obesity, bad posture, dryness of eyes, weak abs, foggy brain, increased risk of heart disease, pancreatic and colon cancer, repetitive strain injury (RSI) of hands, carpel tunnel syndrome among other things.
6. Improve Habits
We can not let go of the devices and online work, they are a part of our lives now. But what we can do is improve our habits whiles using these devices. Please follow these guidelines:
- Get proper furniture and make a special place in the house for online work and learning.
- Sit in an ergonomically correct position — sit with straight back, feet flat on the ground, with support for lower back and arms
- Take breaks every 20–40 minutes. Walk around. Follow the 20–20–20 rule which means that after every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds to help your eyes relieve some strain.
- Maintain proper division of time between work and recreation. Do not over work.
- Sleep properly and at time.
- Learn new things. Do more non-digital activities.
- Work out
- Talk to friends, family, peers — it always helps!
7. Keep yourself safe from Cyber bullying and online threats
India is the cyberbullying capital of the world. 1 in 3 students who go online in India are cyber bullied in one way or the other and most don’t even know that they are being cyber bullied. Keep yourself safe by following these guidelines:
- Keep your passwords strong and change them frequently — for social media, net banking and wifi.
- Trust people you know and stay away from strangers who want to befriend you.
- If you notice your friends sending mean messages, or using fake accounts, making inappropriate memes about teachers or other students, posting sexually suggestive pictures, trolling others, tell them it’s wrong and if it continues, report them to the social media, your teachers and if needed cyber police.
- Learn to take screen shots for evidence.
- Do not keep more than Rs 1000 in your digital wallets
- Keep your bluetooth and wifi off in public places; do not use public chargers to charge your phone.
- Stay away from the dark web.
- Think before posting because your digital footprint never goes away.
- Beware of hacking and phishing by keeping your devices updated and using security software.
- Do not open links, emails, messages from unknown people.
Remember, we are all human beings and still have the same bodies which were developed thousands of years ago. Internet is a recent phenomenon so not everyone is aware about it. If we do not change our ways of using technology, then we are impacting our physical and mental health adversely. Stay healthy and keep others healthy.
Also published by the Udaan magazine of Amar Ujala on 26th May 2021
