The uncovering of a private Instagram group styling itself 'Bois Locker Room‘ featuring students from some prominent South Delhi schools discussing their female classmates in disturbingly violent ways including plans of sexual assault is a wakeup call for parents and authorities. The group formed last month or so kicked up a social media storm when screenshots surfaced. Police have questioned a 15 year old boy to identify other members. Similar incidents involving minors discussing rape/ gang rape of classmates have been reported on other digital platforms like WhatsApp too, across cities. The exchanges in the now deleted group require precise responses from police, parents and school authorities around whom the fates of the juveniles involved now revolve. It is important to recognise where a teenager spouting objectification of his female counterparts is coming from. People of all ages, not just children, are retreating deeper into the recesses of their online avatars during this lockdown. But the heavy technological investment in children‘s education, including flooding them with personal smartphones, has not been matched by serious conversations centred on responsible internet usage and equality. Young, impressionable minds absorb the normalisation of rape from the adults around them. When what they see, read and hear is toxic masculinity, that is what they perform. That‘s what peer pressure becomes about. But if this youthful role play of macho dominance receives timely counselling, it can prevent far graver adult offences. Schools and parents have a critical role to play in educating children on gender equality. Digital platforms which claim to have zero tolerance towards content that violates community standards must also explain why such abuses go undetected, despite boasts about Artificial Intelligence-driven technologies to stop them. They should play a more proactive role in stopping the sexual harassment of real people in the guise of virtual sport.
[Editorial Published in Times of India, dated 6 May, 2020]