Hello

this a very important point you bring out but how can we stop this bad use of technology? i mean once a product is bought, how can anyone keep checking what use it being used for? no cyber laws also. will this ever stop?

Dear ikp,

Unfortunately in India there is no law to protect the privacy of people. Secondly most of the times no one files a complaint with the police, which makes it difficult for the police to pursue the case. Voices need to be raised against this practice if we have to bring about laws on privacy.

In south Korea the Goverenment has made it mandatory for cell phone makers to include a beep feature which is activated whenever a user tries to start the camera. A crushing noise or a loud beep is heard whenever someone tries to operate the camera feature.

Many offices (even in India) have asked their employees to leave their phonecams at home. Though this has been done for business safety reasons but it is also a good deterrent to voyeuristic activities.

Chaitali,

what you told about a beep being introduced in the phone is I think one of the most practical ways of dealing with this menace.

Another one would be to be always on the guard. A friend of mine recently when on a honeymoon. I warned him very intensely about being careful and he tells me that he searched the entire hotel room for about an hour for hidden cameras. Finally when he did not find any that he breathed easily and continued his stay in the hotel.

The present scenario reminds me of a statement i read ( who said it I cant remember ):

Eternal vigilance is the price we pay for liberty.

Here is some good news for delhites. A forensic laboratory has been established at PTS Malviya Nagar Complex which is equipped with the latest technology interception hardware and software to meet the rising trends in cyber crime.

Hi ,

I guess it all boils down to two things cyber laws & sex education.

If you consider the DPS case both boy & gal were involved in a natural act called sex .. which is quite intriquing in such an age to encourage them to such extent. With lack of sex education & an overshielding society .. things under a closet r bound to happen. It is this case which came in to light .. there r 1000's of such cases which happen & yet unknown.

Now the question is wht is bad ?? the natural act tht they were doing OR making a video of it & circulating.

Newspapers quoted the gal sayin to her family : " WHts bad in tht " [ well the truthness of it is under suspicion though ] .. but thts wht is happenin. India today is goin through a phase change as far as SEX is concerned. The youth of today is equally attracted to it as they used to earlier .. but now they dont evn fear admitting it. The culture of " U arent supposed to be a VIRGIN " is approaching India at a great pace.

ANd abt laws .. if u have money in ur pocket .. they cant hurt u . U can always play with them . I mean here its all the same .. evn if pornography is not legal it hardly matters .. evn we as students have easy access to porn .. so u jst cannot stop it. The point is tht if young kids watch serials with murders & yet they dont commit one .. similarly can u let the youth watch porn but find a way to restrict them at making one.

Having said all tht .. we can say make laws .. put them behind bars . ban this & tht .. but is it really tht easy ??

BUt as they " things start at home " .. so one can also consider a parents role here .. and tht is where sex education comes in to play.

If u had ever watched " MTV KYA BAAT HAI " .. its a nice serial where they discussion all these hot & taboo topics with d youth. so such discussions need to be there to let the JANTA know whts really behind the curtain.

Hi Anuj,

You are right when you say that it is a very difficult job to stop the misuse of technology. But how much can parents do? they cant possibly keep vigil over their kids cnstantly. And as far as sex education is concerned, ok so you educate them. then what?

i feel its not just about sex education. it goes much deeper than that. it is about developing a healthy sexuality. how the kid views sex and sexuality is important. and it is not just the parents who need to contribute there but equally important are the friends and peers, the kind of company one keeps, the entire upbringing. it is the whole package!

Hi Anuj,

Welcome to the blog!

Unfortunately, I have never seen the program on MTV that you mention but i sincerely hope that this blog serves as the platform that all of us have been waiting for, to talk about things that we usually end up keeping under the covers and ultimately feeling distressed beyond comprehension. Hope the intent of this blog reaches where it is destined to go! :)

Hi Anuj

welcome! well I guess the question of what is bad and good basically (in the changing morality scene as you rightly point out)is to be decided by the kind of impact it has on the people concerned. The DPS school MMS incident had a horrendous affect on the girl (and I guess the boy as he was suspended) but she had to disappear, both their academic futures were seriously affected and who knows all the trauma that the girl is still facing.
It really is about freedom and responsibility I guess. And each person involved needs to take careful note of possible outcomes.

Hi anuj,

welcome to the blog, saw your site, its very nice.

Todays younger generation is exposed to various avenues which influence their sexuality a lot. The biggest challenge of curbing those influences meets with impractical scenarios....and as you said....a natural act...well the word itself tells us ....every generation will discover sex anew....

as Neha put it very nicely that the whole package is important in building a healthy sexuality in young minds. But how do we get the whole package to work?

The DPS incident happened not because the act was done....but because the act was filmed and more importantly 'forwarded'. why would anyone forward a sexual act in which one is involved?

the only main reason is to boast off and show off to ones own peers.

This sort of behaviour is possible only in a repressed society and, that we are a repressed society is absolutely true.

I feel for the scenario to change,the roots have to replaced and repression removed.

Aachi you are right we have to address the roots of the repression.

Look at what happened to Khushboo. A mother of two teenage kids trying the make the life of her and other children safer by saying that there is nothing wrong with premarital sex as long as one is aware of how to keep oneself safe from any unwanted problems. The whole of TN jumped on her and she had to apologize for saying the most appropriate thing to say given the present scenarion.

Anuj young boys are watching murder on tv and they are committing murders. 13 year old kids plotting to kill their friend or raping another kid. Where is all this coming from? The ‘simplicity’ with which anybody can commit a murder as shown on TV programmes is perhaps one of the reasons.

Young kids watching porn films are sent the message that sex is a mechanical thing. When such unemotional feelings get attached to sex how can you stop them from filming and circulating a porn video?

i think that was a horrible thing done and plus from stdents if a school! that to someone took a video. it is amazing how people can be so crazy enough. from my point of view companies that sell these items must keep a track on what these items are being used for.and it's just astonishing how kids of a school can do such a thing! i even think that teachers should be more aware of what happens inthe school,but not only teachers even people everywhere if they see something fishy going on they should imidiatly call the police. not just walk past as if nothing happened or go and tell your friend that you were walking past a place and in a corner you saw something very fishiy thats justnot right. all people around the world should be aware of what has happened.and i dont think that the consiquences or the punishment that they recieved was good enough. and if this kind of a thing happened once in india just imagine what happens every day in soppose london or even new york worse things could happen.but sinc ei am just giving my point of view on this incident all wish is that nothing like this ever happens agian not only in india but also all around the worl.

Hi Mona

Well incidents like these are the sign of the times I guess. And they are happening all over the world. You're right everyone does need to take responsibility, as parents, as teachers, as peers and as citizens.

I think ! that was natural. People make more fus of it that needed ! it was a personal matter & govt must make sex open rather then police arresting the boy & the girl!

Hi Rahul,

Welcome to the blog. I suppose you are talking about the DPS incident. IMO if it was a personel matter then why were there MMSs of the two out in the public. Sexual attraction between young people is not an offense but to exploit it is. Suppressing sexuality is ofcourse very dangerous. But so is being irresponsible and casual about it.