The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued a Cyber Safety Handbook that deals with setting limits to inline friendships, valuing consents, reporting to elders for classes IX to XII.
This action comes after the controversial ‘Bois locker room’ issue that brought the concerns about digital exposure among students and the lack of education on dealing with the issues.
“Students must learn to set limits to their online friendships as well as online communication with real-life friends. There has to be a limit to what they share or exchange in terms of written words, photographs or videos. They must remember that, once online, they may not be able to control who will actually see it, prevent the breach of trust and misuse and potential risk and harm to their person and reputation,” a senior CBSE official said.
“Consent must be an important part of relationships. Pictures, videos and other material shared in confidence cannot be published on social media without the permission of the person just because the other person does not want to continue in a relationship. Youngsters must learn to cope with rejection as it is a part of life but not the end of the world,” the official added.
The Handbook deals with the risks of online friendships and warns against falling into the trap of revenge pornography. It also talks about reporting such incidents to elders as and when it occurs so that much of the damage could be prevented.
“Students must be cautious when their chat partner gives them many compliments regarding their appearance within a short span of their acquaintance. Do not talk to people who ask you to share your sexually explicit photographs or videos. Never accept a friend request from someone you have never met in person. If you share your sexually explicit photos or videos with someone, the person can share those photos with others or post them on social media. They can also blackmail you,” the official added.
