This incident happened in a society on Mira Road. An 8-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl live next door and as their parents both go to work, they stay alone at home after school. Of course, the neighbors used to keep an eye on them, but today’s children are so independent from childhood that they don’t need anyone’s help. Both of them used to look at something on their mobiles all day long. One day, when their maid suddenly entered the house, she noticed that both of them were watching a dirty movie and that they were also lying on top of each other. As soon as the woman entered, both of them were scared. The next day, she informed the parents of those children, and when the father looked at the mobile phone, he was shocked to see what the children were looking at. They used to watch pornographic serials on OTT every day. well! They were known to me because of a common friend, the children were sent for counseling, and their parents gave them a warning, but I am sure things are not going to stop here. The dark side of the OTT platform will surely spoil this generation, because when the mobiles were taken off, both the children rebelled and became abusive towards their parents.
Children may accidentally come across age-inappropriate content while exploring OTT platforms. And then they get curious, and that curiosity makes them addicted. In Mumbai, almost all the children stay at home alone and parents go to work. Everyone has their own financial problems. Either they leave the children in the care of a neighbor or maid, or all the children in the neighborhood live together. At such times, there is no guarantee of who will do what. In a separated family, there is no one to tell the children what is good and what is bad. Their mental balance deteriorates from a young age, they start growing up way beyond their age.
Addiction to OTT streaming is a common fear, as individuals often find themselves spending extensive hours engrossed in their favorite shows. This addictive behavior can result in decreased productivity, isolation from social activities, and, in some cases, contribute to feelings of misery. As the OTT is easily accessible, we might not be aware of what kind of content they are watching when parents are not available. Undeniably, people are consuming a variety of content on OTT platforms, with an enormous viewership. These platforms have unleashed incalculable content choices for their audiences. The supply and demand for content have been huge in the last few years.
India is a country of values and ethics with various cultural and religious sensitivities. Concerns arise when content on OTT platforms is offensive, disrespectful, or contrary to traditional values, leading to potential social and cultural pressures. Unfortunate or vulgar content on OTT platforms can have an impact on children and young audiences who may access such content. There are concerns about the exposure of underage viewers to age-inappropriate material and the potential influence it may have on their behavior, attitudes, and moral values.
In response to these concerns, the Indian government has introduced new guidelines and regulations to regulate content on OTT platforms. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, aim to ensure responsible content moderation, establish a grievance redressal mechanism, and address concerns related to explicit, offensive, or vulgar content. It’s important to note that the perception of what constitutes obscene or vulgar content can vary among people and societies, and matching freedom of expression with social feelings is a huge challenge. The implementation and impact of regulations and guidelines will continue to be a subject of debate and discussion in India’s evolving digital media landscape. Rules are made but still, in the name of freedom, there are random violations. What’s the point? If you really think. Your kids at home should be shoved into these kinds of programs, do watch and feel sorry for the new rule.
The problem is that unsavory and vulgar content just to attract the audience and disturb the mental balance is dangerous. In a report, it was stated that a lot of criminals who have committed rapes and crimes have watched these things or have taken inspiration from such content, which is unhealthy for any civilization. And another big problem is that it doesn’t have a proper regulation for age determination, which results in small kids watching such things sneakily and since we all know that these kids will be the future of this nation, it may prove really harmful to us. If something is uncontrollable or something that destroys the harmony of the nation (by inciting violence) or hurts the Indian sovereignty or is not in the good faith of its people, then the government should ban it.
On February 25, the Save Bharat Save Culture Foundation and Hindu Jan Jagruti Samiti organized an event to save Mother India from an impending cultural disaster. They will be having discussions on “Misdeeds of OTT & Filmy Duniya – Enablers of Increased Rapes.”. Their aim is to stop the epidemic that is prompting rousing rape, even in small kids and students. Several recent cases came to light where sexually perverted content on mobile was a common factor in rape and crime incidents. Such efforts by civil society can make a good impact if we, the responsible citizens, participate in the cause.
