UAE FILM IS A WARNING FOR PARENTS
Short films by Zenofar Fathima aims to teach parents the dangers their children might face online
Two films warning parents of the hazards their children might be exposed to online were recently released in the UAE.
Director and producer Zenofar Fathima this week unveiled, The
Peril 2, a follow-up to her first short film released earlier this year that acts as a wake up call for parents who, because of the demands of a work, sometimes compromise on the security of their childrene security of their children.
“As parents we must take responsibility for the safety of our children. We have to take the future of our children in our hands and being busy is no excuse to neglecting their well-being,” Fathima says.
The Peril revolves around a father and his daughter who travel together to spend their holidays away. The father, a businessman with a hectic work life, in an attempt to give in to his five-year-old daughter’s needs, leaves her with a gadget with unsupervised access to the internet. Through visual narration, the film then transitions into the dangers that the girl is exposed to online.
“There is a change in the child’s behaviour when they are using the internet more than usual. It affects their mental as well as physical wellbeing and it is of no good to witness our very own blood under the influence of these gadgets losing their ability to read properly or not being able to do other activities efficiently,” explains Fathima.
A Unicef report on children in a digitised world last year called for “faster action” in an attempt to not only protect children from the harms of the digitised age but also for them to benefit from the ever-growing upgrades in technology, positively.
“The internet was designed for adults, but it is increasingly used by children and young people. So digital policies, practices, and products should better reflect children’s needs, children’s perspectives and children’s voices,” Anthony Lake, Unicef executive director, said in the report.
In an attempt to understand Fathima’s perspective better, tabloid! spoke to UAE-based parents to understand their concerns.