1 in 3 Facebook friends of kids is a stranger or a person they hardly know

Yes, its true 1 in 3 Facebook Friends of kids is a stranger or a person they hardly know. Well, it’s really alarming because the so called ‘Virtual World’ can land them into a big trouble, if they do not handle it properly. According to a survey GenZ undertaken by Tata Consultancy Services, 1 in 3 Facebook Friends of kids is a stranger, and only 10 percent of their friends on social media platforms are relatives and family members.

The aim of the survey was to get a pulse of the digital habits of students from classes 8th to 12th. Notably, the survey covered 11,000 students across 15 cities.

Result of Survey

50 percent of Facebook Friends of children in cities such as Lucknow and Coimbatore are people they hardly know. In Bhubaneswar and Kolkata, it was more the 40 percent. Last but not the least, it was between 30 percent and 40 percent at Bengaluru, Indore, Nagpur and Kochi.

Exposed to a lot of misleading information

Although Facebook has mandated a minimum age requirement of 13 years to create a page, but a lot students create their profile by entering false date of birth. This give them exposure to a lot of misleading information which can distract them and confuse them. According to child Psychologists, the trend of being socially active on various platforms, reflects their desperate need to seek acceptance from strangers. They feel good when they see a large friends list.

Pointers to keep in mind

Most of the children love being active on the social media, but they hardly understand the importance of privacy settings. Uploading a lot pictures and chatting with strangers could have devastating results and that cannot even be controlled. It is important for all of us to tell our children about the importance of privacy settings. So that we can prevent them from getting into a big trouble.

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