With more than 113 million Indians under the age of 18 estimated to be using the internet, a child rights organisation has launched a nationwide campaign urging children, parents and educators to pause before clicking, sharing or posting online amid growing concerns over cyber bullying, online grooming, exploitation and privacy violations.
Child Rights and You (CRY), an Indian non-governmental organisation, will launch its “Ting Tong” campaign on Aug. 12, seeking to promote safer digital behaviour among children through a simple message: stop and think before engaging with online content or strangers.
For a generation growing up with smartphones and constant connectivity, the internet has become an integral part of childhood — a place for education, entertainment, social interaction and self-expression. But the expansion of children’s digital lives has also created new avenues for abuse and exploitation.
CRY cited data from India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) showing that the country recorded more than 100,000 cybercrime cases in 2024. The organisation said cases of cybercrime involving children have increased sharply since 2017, including a significant rise in offences involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM), as well as cyberbullying, harassment and blackmail.
The figures, CRY said, underline a growing child-protection challenge as harmful experiences increasingly move from the physical world to digital platforms.
“Online safety is no longer merely a technology issue or a matter of digital hygiene; it is essentially a child protection issue,” Puja Marwaha, chief executive of CRY, said.
The campaign uses the familiar sound of an online notification — “Ting Tong” — as a reminder to pause before clicking an unfamiliar link, accepting a friend request, sharing an image, forwarding information or trusting unknown content.
CRY said the initiative is not intended to place the burden of online safety solely on children. Instead, it calls for a broader response involving parents, schools, communities, policymakers, technology companies, media organisations and civil society.
“Children today are growing up in two worlds — the physical and the digital,” Marwaha said, arguing that the same attention given to children’s safety at home, in schools and in communities must extend to the digital spaces they inhabit.
The organisation also highlighted the reluctance of some children to report harmful online experiences, saying fear of blame, punishment or disbelief can prevent them from seeking help.
As India’s internet user base continues to expand, the campaign seeks to promote what CRY describes as a small but potentially significant behavioural change: taking a moment to assess before acting online.
CRY said the initiative is part of its broader child-protection efforts and called for collective action to ensure that children can use digital platforms for learning, participation and social interaction without being exposed to abuse and exploitation.
Founded more than four decades ago, Child Rights and You (CRY) works with children, families and communities across India on issues including education, health, protection and child rights. The organisation says its programmes have reached more than three million disadvantaged children through hundreds of initiatives across 19 states.
