LETTERS I am extremely grateful for the crackdown by the authorities to address the issue of child pornography at a time when our children are facing unprecedented exposure to risks which includes exploitation and harmful content, particularly online.
The real scare is that adult perpetrators are prowling the virtual world and casually grooming young victims online.
To address such danger, media and information literacy (MIL) can be an essential tool to protect society's most vulnerable members. MIL also equips parents, educators, and communities with the necessary skills to build a safer online environment for children.
Young children and pre-teens often lack the awareness to recognise risks such as sexual grooming or inappropriate content. Therefore, trusted individuals - such as parents, educators or any responsible adult they are comfortable with - should direct them towards safe platforms.
It is about time that educators and educational institutions formally integrate digital literacy in classroom lessons, focusing on topics like online privacy and recognising online predatory behaviour such as inappropriate conversations, soliciting compromising photos or videos, sharing of explicit content or threatening behaviour.
This may help children recognise signs of wrongful behaviour by an adult from a young age to help protect themselves from exploitation.
PRIYADHARSINI AHRUMUGAM
Senior Lecturer,
Department of Communication,
Sunway University
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times