Page 52 - EW February 2026

Cover Story

countries where production of abusive
pornographic videos is legally per-
missible as “freedom of expression”.
Western women who self-righteously
complain about sexual harassment in
developing countries would do well to
also complain against the flourishing
porn industry which has ruined their
collective image by projecting them as
dissolute wantons who enjoy sexual
exploitation and humiliation.
While Indian law criminalises pro-
duction, publication and distribution
of pornographic content, there is no
law against watching pornography in
private. However, data drawn from
the Crimes Research Bureau indicates Chauhan: unambiguous call Latha: parent-child fissures
easy access to pornographic content
has had the socially destabilisation han, an alumna of Mumbai Univer- By the time they are in high school,
effect of a sharp rise in people traffick- sity and Principal of the Universal they are overwhelmed by the pres-
ing, rape and molestation of women School, Mumbai which has 1,800 day sure to conform. However, one can’t
and children. scholars on its muster rolls. put our children in silos because there
is a domino effect to social media us-
The response of most private and
F OR AMERICAN megacorps government schools to the social age. Today, screens are being handed
over as pacifiers even before children
that dominate the digital
media tidal wave is to ban the use of
media ecosystem, India
However, it is pertinent to note that
with its huge population smartphones during school hours. are trained to regulate their emotions
or think critically. Many parents hand
of an estimated 600 million aged boarding schools that can ban or phones to children out of love, for
below 24 years is a lucrative market severely restrict cell phones usage safety, exhaustion from long work-
for transnational consumer products round the clock are a tiny minority of ing hours, nuclear family settings,
and services, whose advertising tar- the country’s 1.10 million government or fewer safe spaces for play. Later,
gets consumers from the data sold by and 450,000 private schools. There- when screen use becomes difficult to
social media platform providers. Cur- fore, the great majority of school and negotiate, resentment sets in straining
rently in the absence of strong leg- college-going minors are subject to relationships with family members.
islation prohibiting major platform lax control over social media usage at In such cases, parents look for school
providers such as Meta, Google and X home. support in disciplining their children’s
from hosting distracting and harmful Consequently, teachers country- behaviour. Although schools conduct
content on their proprietorial plat- wide are witnessing discernible drops ‘life skills’ and ‘value-based learning’
forms, the onus is on educators and in learning outcomes, behaviour classes, it isn’t enough considering
parents to guide children through ad- changes and deteriorating classroom many of the disciplinary challenges
dictive traps of the digital world. discipline among children. Persistent stem from social media exposure
“India must ban minors access- usage of social media, even if only and digital habits formed outside of
ing social media because minors lack after school hours, has eroded chil- school hours,” says Latha M, Direc-
the cognitive and emotional maturity dren’s reading habits, concentration, tor, Sadeepani Academy of Excellence,
to distinguish between persuasion, resulting in shallow learning which Bengaluru which has 750 children in
performance and reality in online en- adversely affects their academic out- this CBSE school.
vironments. Their senses of critical comes. “Students now feel that aca- The technical explanation provided
judgement, attention and self-regula- demic learning is too slow compared by psychologists for this pernicious de-
tion are in evolutionary stage. So the to what they watch on their phones,” pendence is that rapid stimulation and
limited benefits of social media must laments a despondent teacher of a instant rewards available in the form
be weighed against the downsides of top-ranked Mumbai day school. of ‘likes’ releases Dopamine — the
reduced attention spans, exposure to “Middle school children are most hormone in the brain that generates
adult content, anxiety, disturbed sleep vulnerable to the impact of social pleasure and well-being sentiments.
patterns and addiction to social media media since they are in the age group However, when adolescents and teens
platforms,” says Dr. Shunila Chau- where they want to test boundaries. in particular, don’t receive the number

52 EDUCATIONWORLD FEBRUARY 2026