Internet a necessary evil for children

Parental supervision indispensable to stop the rot:

N.U. Abdul RAZZAK

The internet, one of the latest inventions, of course, is a blessing for the humanity in every aspect of life such as education, entertainment, excursion, health, sports, trade and importantly communication.

As a matter of fact, the advent of the internet has multiplied the fruits of global village for million and millions of people throughout the world. Under the global village, television brings the whole world into our sitting rooms. But the internet has taken us a further step higher with its wonderful facilities which are unprecedented in the human history.

This apparatus has actually created a revolution facilitating people to send e-mail, use e-ticketing, send documents via attachment, read latest news on websites, get photos and so on. Most of these activities are done in no time giving much comforts to the users. Businessmen can do their business just staying at home. Mere pressing of the button will do the needful.

A job applicant can so easily send all his documents such as passports copy, testimonials and the like in the forms of a soft copy to his perspective employer who probably can be stationed thousands of miles away from him thus serving time and money. Even a five year old child can send an email from one corner of the world to another. Therefore it is crystal clear like all other inventions such as computer, television, telephone and the like, the internet gives us a variety of comforts and facilities to have an easy and prosperous life.

However, this powerful tool too has its demerits if it is abused misused or handled wrongly by its users who invariably are the members of the general public. We often hear that these devices and tools are often blamed for the present crisis and chaos the world is facing. But one should remember that they are mere pieces of machines that have not got the sixth sense as we are blessed with.

They are completely operated and controlled by human beings. So it is obvious abuse and misuse occur not due to the faults of them but due to the wickedness of human beings. Can the axe be blamed for the wanton destruction of jungles?

Certainly, it is the human brain and hand that rape the beauty and the purity of the wildlife, Similarly inventions such as the internet are the blessing that are deliberately turned into curse by some of the users.

As the debate column of the Daily News has spotlighted the dangers of porn menace, it is high time the authorities concerned and the custodians of children, the parents themselves diverted their urgent attention to take precautionary steps to save the victims particularly the children of the dark side or the underworld of the internet. When a topic of this nature is taken for discussion it is apt to look at the importance of rearing of children.

A child who is well brought up will never think of getting involved in any mischief, violence or crime be it theft, cheating, watching blue film or visiting sites of pornography. His discipline let him not include such activities in his daily routine. Such children also get the guidance and support of their parents in all their endeavours. These guardians cautiously supervise them so as to ensure that they pursue the right path.

It is a well-known fact that parents play a pivotal role in the moulding of the character of children. A kid normally spends over four years under the complete control and care of his father, mother and other immediate members of the family such as grand parents.

The behaviour of them reflects, in the child, every action of the elders is imitated by the child. If parents set a good example there is no reason a child can get into trouble. Therefore, it is apparent parents play the key role for the character of a child. Such a child will not come under the influence of any social scourage such as porns.

Do all infants and children in Sri Lanka get the parental love and care? We know there hundreds and hundreds of families where infants, kids and children are denied of this much needed ingredient for the proper growth of them due to various reasons such as broken families, foreign employment, alcoholism, drug addiction and the like.

Many mothers leave their children with their relatives as they take wings to foreign countries to get money. Divorce is another evil that has adversely affected the children in terms of love.

What is the fate of such hapless children? Invariably, they get maladjusted or become criminals when they become grown up. Nobody can stop them from falling prey to pornography, drug addiction etc. Therefore it is clear that the treatment should not be given to the symptoms of the disease but the root cause.

A timely announcement from our President that banning of women going abroad as housemaids with effective from the start of 2009 is a sign for the development of this nation. This right step indeed will help in no small way to put an end to the scourage of broken families and other social corruptions which have crept in due to the migration of women to foreign countries.

Another major reason for the social ills of today is the apathy of people towards their respective religions. A fair portion of our population are away from their religions. This country has got four major religions that expect their devotees to lead a decent and peaceful life adhering to good values, manners and non-violence.

All religions promote their cultures, traditions, proper dress code, gender differences and so on. Unfortunately a segment of our population blindly ape the Western culture. Children of such families become prey to many social ills.

Lastly, parents should make it a point to supervise and monitor the children youngsters and others who are under their care. The members of the younger generation particularly, the children should not be given the freedom of the wild ass.

All their activities should be properly decided and monitored by parents. The use of computers, mobile phones and the internet should be strictly restricted and carefully monitored by parents teachers and the guardians.

One may argue how can a parent find a time to stay with children when the parents of the middle class and the lower class across the globe make every effort to keep the wolf from the door. But it should be remembered that feeding a child who is spoilt brings no benefit to parents or the nation. As they say “where there is a will there is a way” parents who get no time to stay with their children should make alternative arrangements for the guidance and supervision of their dear ones.

Schools that are the second home of children should prove that all students who get education pass out as law abiding and useful citizens when they get their leaving certificates. Teachers are the guiding stars of children. Hence they should instil discipline, manners and positive attitudes in children.

Teachers should explain the use and abuse of the internet and other similar devices. Above all their words and deeds should be exemplary.

Teachers as role models make a big revolution in stopping all the social evils including the porns and other dark sites of the internet. The parties concerned with telecommunications should block all porn sites respecting the world of the President.