ASIAN SCHOOL OF CYBER LAWS CONDUCTS CYBER SECURITY SURVEY ACROSS SCHOOLS IN INDIA

February 20, 2013: Asian School of Cyber Laws (ASCL) has recently conducted a Survey on Cyber Attitude of School Children across schools in India.

The survey covered 13,050 school students (7th, 8th, 9th and 10th standards) spread across Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Patiala, Bhatinda and Nellore. The survey was conducted in physical form with printed questionnaires being handed over to the students in class during regular school hours. Participants were gifted specially designed bookmarks based on the theme of “Cyber Security”.

The survey disclosed interesting statistics on how school children perceive social networking sites. These sites have claimed an important place in their habitual lifestyle. Despite being underage (social networking sites require one to be 18 or above according to policies on their web sites), countless school students were found to be active with multiple accounts on social networking sites.

According to the survey, 67% school children stated having started using Facebook before the age of 10 and 82% of students reported having received vulgar, offensive or abusive emails or Facebook messages. It was alarming to note that almost 42% of students feel it is not a crime to use pirated software in India. The survey also revealed that 36% children did not know their Facebook friends in real life. With recent increases in instances of cyber bullying and stalking, this fact assumes significant importance.

Mr. Rohas Nagpal, President, Asian school of cyber laws remarked: “the survey revealed several shocking outcomes. This survey is an eye opener for various schools and family on how to ensure cyber safety norms for their children and keep them safe in the virtual world.”