37.8% of 10-year-old children have Facebook account violating rules: NCPCR

July 25: In a sensational revelation, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) stated that about 37.8% and 24.3% of 10-year-old children have an account on Facebook and Instagram respectively, , which is seemingly in contravention to the guidelines laid down by various social networking platforms. Infact, the age barrier for creating an account on Facebook and Instagram happens to be 13 years.

In the study by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on the Effects (Physical, Behavioural and Psycho-social) of using Mobile Phones and other Devices with Internet Accessibility by Children’, it was found that a large proportion of 10-year-olds have social media accounts. For the study, responses from a total of 5,811 participants, consisting of 3,491 school going children, 1,534 parents and 786 teachers from 60 schools, across six states in the country, were collected.

“Social media platforms contain and disperse such a variety of content, a lot of which is neither appropriate nor conducive for children. They can be anything from violent or vulgar content to instances of online abuse and bullying of children. Hence, in this regard, proper oversight and stricter enforcement is required,” it said.