Editorial | #DontBeASharent

The social-media is a realm that has hardly left anything untouched in our lives and with the passage of each day, the users continue to dive inside to make the most of it notwithstanding the fact whether it has a good or bad effect. The influence of this sphere can be understood from the fact that there were as many as 4.76 billion social-media users in the world as of January 2023 – equating to 59.4% of the total global population and it would be expectedly up by many notches by now. The use of social-media has multiple facets, but one thing that somehow demands immediate attention is the sharing of pictures by users of their children – merely to gain attention from the users. It has been a matter of serious concern which we can’t simply ignore and more so given the advent of latest technologies particularly the Artificial Intelligence (AI). The hackers who remain on prowl steal anything coming their way, use these pictures for the realization of their ill designs while the users don’t have any idea until they find themselves landed in some sort of trouble. Though the users already know about the perils of sharing such pictures and other confidential data online, there still is a need to go an extra-mile to actually deter the people for their own benefit only. Interestingly, in a bid to generate awareness on the issue, Assam Police generated a unique campaign by the hashtag #DontBeASharent – aimed to educate the parents’ of their obligations towards their children and not to expose (pictures) of their children to the virtual world. The users need to bear it in mind that their desire to get few likes, shares and comments can have serious ramifications on the future of their beloved’ and wisdom lies in the fact that they refrain from sharing such things in the virtual world. One thing that demands mention is that this issue has been receiving so much attention that France, one of the developed nations of Europe, has already introduced a bill to penalize the parents’ or guardians who may be sharing pictures of the children on any social-media platform. Hope sanity prevails and the users take heed and not to force the government to take any such measure in the country.