“I m d 1 u were looking for. Ready to do anything if u make me feel like a slut!!! I like it hot n wild n I love to be abused. I love to do all kinky things...n I love to be touched in public. So wat r u waiting for???? Come n get me. I m all urs” reads the profile of a user, Anamika Shinde on Orkut.“Hi all, I need a girl for a night...I can pay very handsomely. Think on it & contact me” says a post by Satisfy…Me on a community named “Pune Anonymous Sex & Amp; call” (2,323 members) dated 25 Jan 07.

 

These two are just a few of the instances that openly solicit and promote prostitution on a social networking site. This is a mere reflection of the depleting social and human values wherein a public platform is being misused to serve vested interests by a particular section of the society operating around 533 sex-related communities.

 

Orkut came to India only in Feb 2006 with a mission statement claiming to help people to create a closer, more intimate network of friends and hoping to put them on the path to social bliss. It is apparent from the mission statement that it was established to enable people to interact with each other across the globe by bridging geographical distances. However it has since been used for superfluous activities leading to moral degradation and upheaval. Presently Orkut has open online sexual transactions which have diverse effect on the psyche of the vulnerable lot.

 

As per the demographic data available on net portal Wiki, India is the third largest user of Orkut preceded by Brazil as numero uno and USA at the second spot. Having countless children as its users it has become a challenging task for their guardians to prevent them from accessing the uninvited content. “I have joined Orkut only to teach my 14 year old daughter to be a safe net surfer and follow the precautions of internet security. Pre-teens and teens is a very vulnerable age” says Prasanna Hullikavi, a lecturer. The reason for youngsters indulging into such activities remains obscure. One of the users says “plzz guys dont call me 4 time pass I need money dats why I m doing dis.” He goes on to add that he charges Rs. 3000 per encounter. On the contrary another user of the community ‘Aundh (Pune) Soft Sex Station’ (205 members) in his posting titled ‘Fun In Aundh’ states “Calling all girls who are seeking fun living in Aundh Area, Lets all enjoy each other and have fun. Both Indians and foreigners are invited to share their contact numbers.”

 

The gay, lesbian and bisexual communities as well are reaping gold. They offer services for sexual contentment at amounts ranging from 2 to 5,000. With exchange of contact numbers getting rampant one feels disgusted to read in a community named Pune Gays (695 members) wherein a user with the name Gigolo 4punegals states “Gays r u ready? If one teaches me Salsa then I will give him three days of full service.” Besides bare images and uncouth language the evil has clutched communities of schools in trying to lure young students into its trap. “On being informed by one of my friends; I was shocked beyond belief to read a derogatory comment about me and a few others as an anonymous post in my school community. I felt like a butt of joke and only thought about the one who victimized me to relish my pain. Since then I am even scared to log into Orkut,” states a distressed user who prefers to stay unnamed. She is like many others who have gone through an ordeal at various stages for using the site and demanded that it should be banned to prevent such frivolities in the future.

 

Nevertheless according to a clinical psychologist, Satarupa Anderson, “Banning Orkut like in Iran and UAE will serve no real purpose as it is the human tendency to explore ways which are a taboo. The only remedy to curb the alarming situation is to change the conservative outlook in the conventional Indian families.” “I believe Orkut is meant to stay in touch through scraps as mailing has become boring and long. But it is very unfortunate and despicable to see that people use it for pervert purposes,” says Anna, a budding lawyer.

 

“The Orkut menace falls under IPC, 1860, Section 292 for which the person could be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to 1 lakh rupees and in the event of a second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and also with fine which may extend to 2 lakh rupees as per the Indian Information Technology Act 2000 , Chapter XI Para 67,” affirms a leading law expert of Pune.