In October 2023, the tragic death of 16-year-old Pranshu Yadav, a self-taught queer artist who ended his life after being subjected to homophobic bullying online cast a sharp, painful spotlight on the dark underbelly of children’s digital lives. Pranshu had been posting makeup tutorials and reels on Instagram since the pandemic, but in the weeks leading to his death, he was targeted with hate-laden, degrading comments. His grieving mother later told the media that social media platforms must do more to check this kind of negativity. She had always stood by her son, but in a world where digital vitriol can be relentless and invisible, support often arrives too late.
Pranshu’s story is far from an isolated case. It exemplifies a growing epidemic of online harm that is disproportionately affecting young users with devastating consequences.
The digital paradox: connection meets crisis
In a world where smartphones are omnipresent and social media has seamlessly merged with daily life, children and adolescents are more connected than ever before, but also more exposed. The 2023 UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report warned against the unregulated digital landscape, noting how social media now enables bullying far beyond school hours, turning peer aggression into a 24/7 ordeal. Unlike traditional bullying, online abuse thrives on anonymity, scale, and permanence, often leaving children feeling powerless and socially isolated.
The consequences are measurable. According to a 2021 study published in JAMA Pediatrics, excessive social media usage is directly correlated with increased risks of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction among adolescents. Even short bursts of exposure to graphic violence, sexually explicit content, or disinformation can shape a child’s emotional development and behaviour in irreversible ways.
In India, where over 560 million people are online and nearly half the population is under the age of 25, the vulnerability of children is not theoretical; it is immediate. While internet access has bridged the information divide for many communities, it has also widened the gap in online safety awareness.
When protection begins at home
There is one truth experts consistently agree on: the first and most crucial layer of digital protection is not a firewall or a content filter—it is a parent. And the most effective safety tool is not an app, but a conversation.
Parents play a decisive role in shaping how children experience the online world. However, many remain unaware of what their children see, share, or experience online. Too often, digital parenting is reactive rather than proactive, surfacing only when things go wrong. But children don’t just need control, they need guidance.
Constructive parent-child dialogue builds resilience, instils critical thinking, and provides emotional safety. Children are more likely to report online abuse or seek help when they feel seen and supported, not surveilled. This means parents must ask questions, listen without judgement, and discuss real-life risks—from data privacy and misinformation to cyberbullying and grooming—in an open and age-appropriate manner.
Of course, restrictions have their place. Limiting screen time or using content filters may act as a buffer against harmful content, especially for younger users. But these must be tools of partnership, not punishment. When used in isolation, controls can breed secrecy. Used alongside conversation, they can encourage a sense of shared responsibility.
A structural challenge that needs shared responsibility
What complicates the issue further is that digital harm doesn’t impact all children equally. Children at the intersection of multiple marginalities—those who are poor, queer, Dalit, disabled, or from remote regions—face compounded risks. They are not only more likely to lack digital literacy but also more vulnerable to online abuse, surveillance, or exploitation.
This is where non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have stepped in to bridge the awareness gap.
Building grassroots resilience: What NGOs are doing
Recognising the rising digital risks, Smile Foundation, through its flagship Mission Education programme, has embedded online safety into its pedagogy, especially for children in underserved areas. In dozens of community centres and informal schools, children attend workshops designed to teach digital hygiene, critical media literacy, and respectful online behaviour.
What makes the initiative stand out is its community-first design. Children are encouraged to take their learnings beyond the classroom—talking to siblings, parents, and peers about digital dangers, forming a cascading effect of awareness within their social ecosystems. This peer-to-peer model ensures that awareness doesn’t stop at the first point of contact, but travels through entire communities.
Workshops also include interactive elements such as street plays and scenario-based learning, ensuring that the concept of digital safety is not abstract but tangible. Children learn how to identify fake profiles, report abuse, and understand consent—skills that are crucial but rarely taught in traditional school curriculums.
A call for systemic change for children’s online safety
While community-led models are essential, systemic reform remains non-negotiable. India needs a child-first approach to digital governance—one that integrates digital literacy into school curricula, mandates platform accountability, and ensures age-appropriate design of digital services. Social media companies must invest in stronger content moderation in local languages and provide easier reporting mechanisms accessible to children.
Furthermore, we must recognise that online safety is interwoven with broader issues of mental health, education equity, and child rights. As such, safeguarding children online must be embedded in the country’s health, education, and digital development policies.
Moving from online safety to empowerment
The digital world is not going away. For today’s children, it is a part of life. Which is why protecting children online cannot simply be about shielding them from harm; it must also be about teaching children how to navigate online spaces with confidence, compassion, and critical thinking. But to do so, we must first start with ourselves—as parents, educators, policymakers, and digital citizens. The cost of silence is too high, and the stakes too urgent. It is time we saw digital safety not as a tech issue but as a fundamental right of every child—and acted like it.
