City schools warn students against using social media

Bengaluru: Several schools in Bengaluru have issued warnings to students and parents about the risks of children being active on social media, particularly on Instagram.

This comes in the wake of a recent incident in the city where a class 9 girl's photograph was morphed into nude images using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and posted on Instagram. 

As most schools reopened on Wednesday after a two-month summer vacation, several institutions used the orientation sessions for parents and students to issue strict warnings against children having social media accounts. Schools also urged parents to closely monitor their children's activities when using devices like phones and computers.

Some schools are urging parents to give an undertaking that their wards are not active on any social media sites, especially on Instagram.

"Instagram has been a big problem where children have their own groups to chat, bully teachers, and post derogatory comments about teachers. A recent incident where some children morphed a class 9 girl's photograph for a nude photo and posted it on her school group on Instagram is the best example of how our children are misusing the platform," said the principal of a top school in the city.

The principal recalled a warning issued to parents during orientation that their children will be expelled from school if they are found using Instagram.

To raise awareness among parents and help them understand the consequences, some schools have invited cybercrime experts to the orientation sessions. Representatives from the police department have also been invited to provide education on the topic.

Bhuvaneshwari J, principal and director of Presidency School, Bangalore South, said, "We have a policy for mobiles at the school. But as for using social media, we have delivered lectures by cybercrime experts about the consequences of misusing social media. Even parents say they are helpless in controlling their teenage children, and so we have directed our counsellors to create awareness among them by quoting the recent incident and what happened after that, and how the culprits were caught."

Avanthi Reddy, Academic Head of the Science Division at Sadhana PU College in Uttarahalli, was also concerned about minors riding and driving vehicles to school.

"We are very particular about gadgets inside the campus that children should not carry,” she said.

“Even during the orientation, we have clearly told parents and students about it. Nowadays, riding and driving has become a menace. We are trying to educate them by giving a recent incident reported at Pune where a minor driving under the influence of alcohol killed two people,” she added.

"There should be control and a close watch by parents on what their children are posting on Instagram, whom they are friends with, their chat history, and chatting subjects, "she said.

Gayethri Devi, Principal, Little Flower Public School, said the schools are in dilemma about discussing social media with children.

"In a class of 40, 20 may have been open to social media and the other 20 may be naive, so we need to be very sensitive in our approach,” she said, advocating one-to-one counselling. Devi urged parents to get their children a basic mobile phone instead of a smartphone.

The Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools has also asked parents to engage children in outdoor activities instead of getting them gadgets.

Morphed photographs

In a recent incident reported in the city, photographs of a class 9 girl from a private school were morphed and nude photos were created using AI, which were then posted on Instagram where her classmates were active.

Following a complaint from the victim’s mother, cybercrime police arrested two minor boys and an 18-year-old PUC student.