CHENNAI: Most of us have heard the contemporary phrase: ‘Sign out before your breakfast becomes newsfeed’. Though the National Crime Records Bureau stated that Tamil Nadu recorded a downtrend in cybercrimes last year, does that make it a non-issue? No! Taking into account personal experiences and the need to spread awareness on safety on the web and social networking sites, the department of Media Management at MOP Vaishnav College for Women is conducting a campaign on cyber safety — ‘WeBsafe’, on September 26 and 27 at the college premises.
Students opine that one needs to know the limitations and dangers of uploading posts and pictures on the internet. “We spend so much time online than offline and it’s important we know what we are signing up for. Since the issue of cybercrime is faced by many, we wanted to take this up,” shares Sharanya, a student of media management. Statistics reveal that nine out of 10 people on the internet are victimised by cyber bullying and other crimes related to it. Vinthira, a student who has also designed the logo for the campaign, shares a personal experience. “Three years ago my Facebook account was hacked. Obscene pictures were being posted and I had to report and delete the account. These incidents affect an individual psychologically,” she avers.
Professor Susan Sridhar, HoD, points out that spending time online is inevitable for today’s generation. “Youngsters believe that the virtual world is reality and we are trying to relieve them of this dual identity. So we want to spread awareness on the different laws and especially the ‘don’ts’ on the web,” says Susan .
The two-day event will have an array of legal, psychological and cyber experts, and techies including Poongkhuzhali, Thomas T Jacob, Padma Chandrashekar, Aashish Vivekanand and Rajendran conducting interactive sessions. Events such as creative writing, ad zap, debate and poster making with cybercrime as its theme will also be conducted.