Children have highly impressionable minds and it is crucial for adults to deal with them as sensitively as possible. Childhood experiences profoundly influence a person’s development, shaping their values, beliefs, and character. A lot of a person’s behavior as an adult depends heavily upon how they were treated as a child. Which is why it is important to treat them with dignity and absolutely not humiliate them in public. But a daily newspaper forgot about this recently.
Remember Parinav? The boy from Bengaluru who went missing and was later found in Hyderabad? He left his coaching class in Whitefield, took a bus and travelled across 3 cities with only Rs 100 in his pocket while his family, community and random strangers on the internet frantically searched for him. He has now been found and is safe.
However, Deccan Herald shared the news of Parinav being found with a rather problematic and insensitive headline which read, “12-year-old traced to Hyderabad, had fled after cheating in exams”.
This was completely unnecessary. This sensationalizes the news and takes away attention from what is really important – that the boy was found. On top of this, it humiliates the boy and his family to a great public extent. How is the boy supposed to face his extended family, friends and people in his school after reading such a headline about himself in a national newspaper?
Several people online slammed the Deccan Herald for publishing such a headline. They called it unacceptable and asked the news daily to have empathy for the boy and his family, who have already gone through such a testing and stressful time. Here’s how some of them reacted:
Come on @DeccanHerald … is that added info in the headline necessary?
This child fled because he was scared. What will this information (was this tidbit verified?) lead to?@bhavibee @shankarsview @ninacgeorge pic.twitter.com/CPfOgh9AGq
— Whitefield Rising (@WFRising) January 25, 2024
Terrible work @DeccanHerald . Thoroughly insensitive. And perhaps illegal too. Did you take the consent of the child’s parents before publishing his photo in this story?
— Anand Sankar (@kalapian_) January 25, 2024
@Deccanherald , this is not acceptable. Have some empathy for the boy and his family.
— Namma Karnataka Weather (@namma_vjy) January 25, 2024
How else would it have become sensational?
— Peacefully Political 🇮🇳 (@peacefullypolit) January 25, 2024
What kind of insensitivity is this? Do you want to traumatise the child more by putting out such information and push him further to take wrong decisions?
— Induja Ragunathan (@R_Induja) January 25, 2024
What kind of reporting is this? There seems to be nothing in the story that corroborates to the title….why mar a youngster and a family’s reputation with such a headline!!!
— Padmapriya Baskaran (@tspadmapriya) January 25, 2024
Did you realise that this headline will haunt that boy for life, @DeccanHerald ? https://t.co/xN719R8PGW
— Satish Acharya (@satishacharya) January 25, 2024
This is terrible and highly insensitive, Deccan Herald, that too in print where it is set in stone. You are making things harder for the kid and the family who have gone through such a tough time this week.
Have some empathy and edit it in your online version, if it has the same… https://t.co/ersbV4BeYT
— Dr Nandita Iyer (@saffrontrail) January 25, 2024
Shame on you @DeccanHerald. He's a CHILD. You can't shame a child in a newspaper like this https://t.co/CZo0E921en
— Dr SareeDon (@DrPyaricetamoI) January 25, 2024
What an insensitive headline!!!! If what the parents went through wasn’t enough, now this!!!
Children have impressionable minds, and they take their self respect very seriously. Mistakes happen and they learn from those. Branding him a ‘cheater’ is highly objectionable. https://t.co/lO73Ey0Pbu
— Dipika (Goyal) Bajpai (@dipika_bajpai) January 25, 2024
Gosh @DeccanHerald , could you please tell what have you gained by labeling a minor, a 12-years-old child, as cheater on mainstream media and ruin him? Do you have the guts to go after all the fugitives who have fled the country after cheating banks? https://t.co/w5YSGija7j
— Nishant Ratnakar (@nishantr) January 25, 2024
What kind of an obnoxious an insensitive headline is this? You haven’t even attempted to hide his identity?How can this kid go to school tomorrow & face his friends?How will the parents survive in a society that’ll no doubt pester them? I hope the parents sue the hell out of you! https://t.co/5dijwPyvYy
— Madhuri (తెలుగింటి అమ్మాయి) (@YaminiDiva) January 25, 2024
Such a shame!