Rewired by the Web :The Silent Assault on Indian Children

In recent years, there has been a stark surge in the digital penetration and the accessibility of the internet in most parts of the country. As per a report by The Ministry of Communications in a  press release on August 2, 2024, the total internet subscribers have increased from 251.59 million  as on March 2014 to 954.40 million in March 2024. Today, 398 million young people use social  media in India. According to a study compiled by the Internet and Mobile Association of India  (IAMAI) in 2023, teenagers spend more than 2-3 hours on platforms like Instagram and YouTube. 

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) also revealed that Around  59.2 per cent children use their smartphones/internet devices for ‘chatting’  (using WhatsApp/Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat). While only 10.1 per cent of children like to  use smartphones for online learning and education, the study also highlighted that 30.2 per cent  of the children of all age groups (8 to 18 years) already possess their own smartphones and use the  same for all purposes.  

In last 5 year, there has been an increase in the usage of social media by children. More than 57  per cent of children in the 14-16 age group use smartphones for educational purposes, while 76  per cent of them use the device for accessing social media, according to the Annual Status of  Education Report (ASER). A survey conducted by LocalCircles, India’s leading community social  media platform, revealed that children aged between 9 to 17 are spending between three to six  hours on a daily basis on these social media platforms, while many of them exceeding six hours as  well. Their exposure to graphic content specifically explicit pornographic content needless to say, destroys their basic fundamental value system. Algorithm on platforms like X, Reddit, Instagram  etc, pushes more explicit content based on its engagement than having ethical based filtration  process. With minimal parental supervision the children at the very early age are being exposed to  such graphic content, unregulated and unchecked usage of which would not only distort their  understanding of relationship and consent in general but will also erode the moral foundations  during their formative years.  

In May 2025, police in Chennai arrested 12 people — seven of them minors — for the alleged  rape and sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl. The NCRB data shows that the share of those  apprehended for violent offences steadily increased. In 2016, of all the juveniles apprehended,  32.5% were caught for committing violent crimes. By 2022, this figure had risen to 49.5%. This 

means that half the juveniles who were in conflict with the law were apprehended for violent  offences. 

In February 2025, a chilling incident in Chhattisgarh highlighted the alarming consequences of  unrestricted digital exposure on minors. A 14-year-old boy attempted to rape and murder a 4-year old girl, allegedly after being influenced by explicit content he had accessed online. This tragic  event is part of a broader trend where India has seen a disturbing rise in crimes committed by  juveniles, often linked to exposure to violent and inappropriate digital content. In 2021, as per the  NCRB report, there were 31,170 cases of juvenile apprehension in India, indicating a 4.7% rise  from the previous year. The data show that a significant number of juveniles, specifically 32,654  under the IPC and 4,790 under SLL crimes, were apprehended within the age range of 16– 18 years old. 

Equally concerning is the increasing use of anonymous chat applications and disappearing  messages features such as those on snapchat etc, which create an environment as a shield for these  predators while making it difficult for the parents and authorities to intervene. Children, unaware  of the permanence of the digital footprints, often share images or messages, which they later regret 

yet by then, the damage is irreversible. A report from the Centre for Social Research indicates that  only 25% of students understand online privacy settings and 52% share personal information  without knowing the risks. 

Whether through memes, live-streams, trending content across social media platforms, the  children are exposed to content that trivializes aggression, harassment, and often self-harm. The  infamous ‘Blue-Whale Challenge’ & more recently, the ‘Fire Challenge’ & the ‘Benadryl Challenge’,  have shown how viral pieces of content can lead to dangerous behavior, there were reported cases  of self-harm, particularly those children seeking approval and validation from their peers online.  This unregulated content which these children are exposed to without actually understanding the  basis of it, lead to such unfortunate incidences in pursuit of getting few likes and recognition  online.  

Additionally, mental health professionals are observing a sharp rise in anxiety, low self-esteem,  body image issues among school going children- all of which is linked to long exposure to this  curated, unrealistic social media life of influencers. Unlike previous generation, today’s children  are growing up in an environment where they are validated not by their peers, but by the number  of likes and comment they got on their social media posts, rightly eroding their ability to form 

actual grounded perspectives for their life. Without timely intervention, this emotional fragility can  spiral into more harmful consequences which we cannot even think of as yet, leading to social  withdrawal and self-harm. 

Further, Emerging neuroscience research studies highlights that early exposure to pornographic  content may impair adolescent brain development-where the prefrontal cortex critical impulse  control, and ethical decision making, remains immature until mid-20s. This study tied specific cases  of violent sexual offending to content viewed online, indicating a possible neural correlation  between consumption and behavior.  

Moreover, broader research published in the National Library of Medicine shows that adolescents  with higher frequencies of sexually explicit media are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior,  exhibit compulsive tendencies, and even perpetrate coercive sexual acts. According to earlier  studies, there is a correlation between increased levels of engagement in the use of substances and  more significant levels of involvement in criminal activity. Teenagers may also resort to illegal  activities such as theft, robbery, prostitution, or assault in order to get the funds necessary to  purchase a narcotic. With emerging data indicating a 47% increase in pornography-related juvenile  crimes since 2022, it is clear that India faces a dual crisis: the challenge of protecting its youth from  harmful digital influences and the imperative to reform its legal and social frameworks to address  juvenile delinquency effectively. 

On similar lines, the Australian government passed the Online Safety Amendment (social media Minimum Age) Act 2024 taking effect from December 2025, that aims to restrict the use of social  media by minors under the age of 16 years, even with parental consent. Prime Minister Anthony  Albanese said in a statement highlighting that Australian children were being negatively affected  by online platforms, and reminding social media of their social responsibility. “I want Australian  parents to know that we have their backs.” 

On the face of it, this legislation might appear very stringent, but it emerges from growing empirical  concerns around children’s exposure to harmful content online. In India, despite having the  Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021,  there remains a glaring enforcement gaps, especially when it comes to regulating age-restricted  inappropriate content on global platforms. Unlike Australia, India does not have a uniform 

verifiable age restriction framework across platforms leaving the children vulnerable to the  unregulated content ecosystem that is largely algorithm-driven, profit-centric, and unfiltered.  

This article does not seek to analyse or comment on the validity of this recent Australian Law, but  instead lays down a parallel for reflection on this particular aspect that in a country like India,  where preserving moral value and maintaining social integrity remains our foundational goal, this  unregulated explicit content on these social media platforms in the name of Freedom of Speech  and Expression, dilutes the very basis and the spirit of the Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of  India. It is Time, when we, as a society should rethink and collectively reassess on the grounds as  to how justified it would be to uphold this unqualified Freedom of Speech at the cost of the moral  ethics, the social fabric of the society and the psychological safety of our future generations.