Nagpur: Easy access to Internet, an overdose of social media, coupled with communication gap with the parents; have attributed some serious behaviour changes among children, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone 2 Vinita S.
“In the recent times, we have been witnessing an alarming rise in the incidents of minor girls leaving their homes in a bid to unite with their virtual friends,” DCP Vinita S has revealed. “What is more worrisome,” she continues, “is the fact they are narrating abduction stories to back their attempts, when found by police,” she mentioned.
Gold Rate
29 May 2025
The main reason:
“Kids during adolescence are subjected to so many things including dilemma, attraction, hormonal changes all at once. Under such circumstances, they shy away from parents and teachers to share their problems. And it is where all the problems start! Kids refuse to share anything with their parents and teachers and ultimately, instill a false sense of solace in the virtual world,” the DCP elaborated.
Pandemic exacerbated situation:
The new normal compelled by the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) had introduced us to online teaching and self isolation. These factors proved pivotal in recent times, as phones that have emerged as the most essential commodity in recent time have exposed the young generation to online friendships. They are so attached to the virtual world and that by any means they refuse to acknowledge the real world and real problems. This has also widened the gap between parents and their wards; which further exacerbates this problem, the DCP Vinita stressed.
The Dark Side:
Rising exposure of youth, especially girls, to online friendships has been attributed to growing cases of online harassment, stalking, abduction and other crimes of serious nature. Girls don’t realize that virtual friends have the potential to jeopardize their lives. There are several human trafficking syndicates that use online friendship as bait to lure minor girls and ended up selling them in Rajasthan, Punjab and other states.
Don’t blame it on phone, establish dialogue:
Reaching out to parents and teachers, DCP Vinita S has urged them not to blame it on gender or phone but make kids aware about the difference between the real and virtual world by giving them practical examples. Police Didi initiative of Nagpur Police has received tremendous success in this regard. If anyone feels that they are going through any kind of these issues, they shouldn’t hesitate to contact Nagpur Police. We’re there for all, she assured.
Need of Digital Detox:
First thing that we need to establish is that the phone is not the sole mode of survival. I can totally understand that due to modernization, a lot has depended upon our gadgets. However, one can’t deny that there’s more to life. Kids these days are too occupied. They are subjected to one class after another. Some even schedule next year’s academic classes during the vacations. The joy of family gathering, sport activity with the parents has been wiped out. We need to establish ways to teach our children to focus on real-life social interactions sans any virtual distractions to teach value of life, DCP Vinita asserted.
Notably, around 246 minors, including 172 girls, went missing and officially remained untraceable between 2017 and October 2020, according to sources. The sources further said that 15 minors were untraceable in 2017 which included six girls. In 2018, the statistics of girls, who remained untraceable, had shot up to 29 while 11 boys were missing. In 2019, there was a more than two and half times rise in the number of untraceable minor girls and boys. Around 78 minor girls were missing without any trace while 28 boys too were not found. In 2020, 59 minors went missing and were not found while 26 boys too remained untraceable.
– Shubham Nagdeve
