The fact that 38 websites promoting drugs in the UAE were blocked by the Dubai Police in 2016 alone points to the relentless vigilance practised by the law apparatus to safeguard the interests of the public, and in particular of young minds. The vulnerability of children and youth to the many deceptions lurking in the ether is a stark modern-day reality that begs urgent combat action and the Dubai Police has been unambiguously vocal about the need for parents to step up their involvement on this battlefield.

The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that 4,279 electronic patrols were deployed by the police this year to monitor the myriad guises under which children, and even adults, are entrapped online into undertaking nefarious activities such as developing an affinity for drugs and committing crimes that include murder, theft and fraud. The anonymity of mal-intent sources online is the biggest danger that confronts children and while the law-and-order machinery has a role to play here, the onus of preventing children from being lured into the dark regions of the online world is primarily a parental responsibility. Down to the last click of the mouse, every parent must make it a point to know their child’s online activity and path line.

The ubiquity of online engagement in today’s world has led to the frightening rise of cyber surrogacy, wherein young minds find mental, psychological and even physical sustenance from the web, with disastrous consequences.

It is time parents recommitted themselves to playing their fundamental, and natural, role with vigour and awareness so they can win back their children’s innocence, purity and self-esteem that is at stake.