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Kids create digital vocabulary to outsmart their parents

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Abu Dhabi - Amid online learning, the use of the Internet has gone up drastically, which also exposes adolescents to unknown contacts and predators.

Published: Sat 2 Jan 2021, 10:06 PM

In the digital age, there is a widening gap between children and parents — a dangerous trend with tech-savvy child predators on the prowl. LOL and FYI may be common acronyms that parents know but how many can decode ‘99’ to be ‘parents gone’? Wonder why kids are using these terms?

Dr Muraleedharan K.K., a specialist psychiatrist, warned against misuse of screen time amid increased online learning. He pointed out that most parents are clueless about the digital vocabulary used by children to keep their activities discreet.

“MOS: mom over the shoulder, CD9: parents around, P911: parents alert, PAL: parents are listening, PAW: parents are watching, PIR: Parent in room and more terms are part of their digital vocabulary. This shows that children seek autonomy and don’t want parents to know their online and offline activities. Parents, on the contrary, expect their children to come and tell them about the challenges they face,” he said during an interactive session on students’ mental health held by the Abu Dhabi chapter of Science India Forum — UAE, a volunteer organisation.

Dr Muraleedharan noted that amid online learning, the use of the Internet has gone up drastically, which also exposes adolescents to unknown contacts and predators.

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com



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