Rithvik Dhanjani to host MTV Webbed

The internet is a great place to make friends, and a better place for faceless predators! Every like, share, comment, tweet has a butterfly effect. It has the power to change someone's life in a microsecond. A certain Miss Shetty found this out the hard way. Like millions of other girls of her age, she also innocently uploaded her picture on a popular networking site. Some boys started harassing her by posting photo-shopped nude pictures of her. Traumatised, she went into depression and became suicidal. What was her mistake? Just that she was the victim of cyber abuse like many others sailing in the same boat?

There's only one way to bring order to this chaos - awareness. Taking an initiative to arm the youth with awareness against cyber abuse, MTV, in association with the NGO Cyber Crime Awareness Society (CCAS), brings a drama series, MTV Webbed - Cyber Abuse. Real Stories'. The show will feature a series of fictional representations of real life cases and incidents that the youth encounter on the web. This show is backed by MTV's own pro social platform, MTV Act, that engages with over 20 NGOs and independent organisations to support cause based initiatives across verticals. Starting September 14, 2013 at 7 PM, MTV Webbed' targets the youth in the age group of 15-24 years.

Aditya Swamy, EVP and Business Head, MTV India, said, "MTV has always been a mirror of what's happening in the world of the millenials and Webbed is that reflection. Given our obsession with pop culture, we know how young people are constantly changing. A generation of internet natives, they enjoy the benefits of being connected but what's changing is the dangers that this connectivity poses. The only way to protect yourself is to Think Before You Click."

A ten-part series, MTV Webbed will have youth icons, from television heartthrobs Jay Bhanushali, Siddharth Shukla, Karan Vir Bohra, Ritwick Dhanjani to choreographer Salman Khan, beauties Pratyusha Banerjee, Sana Syed, Priya Wal and singer Chang. Each will host an episode and will emphasise the natural instinct of youth who let curiosity take the better of them only to regret it later and face the brutal consequences.

With new cases coming to light each day, cyber abuse can no longer be swept under the carpet. In the recent times, cyber abuse has grown exponentially with no signs of slowing down. 2012 saw 47.9 per cent rise in cyber forgery and 39.1 per cent rise in cyber fraud being reported under IPC category for cyber crimes. Through this show, MTV along with CCAS wishes to spread awareness and educate the youth about the correct safety measures. It's time to raise questions and give them a clear understanding of how their digital entitles can be abused and taken advantage of without necessary precautions.

Milind Agarwal, President, CCAS, said, "In the last few years, we have seen an increase in the number of cyber abuses being reported. Most of the youngsters do not know how to tackle this issue and what precautions are to be taken. This show will act as a medium for us to reach out to the numerous victims of cyber abuse. Also, MTV enjoys a huge fan following amongst today's youth and hence this was the perfect platform for us to reach out to all the teenagers who are and might face this problem."

Those who wish to share their problems and raise questions can call on the direct Hotline number +91-9461101915 / 9024936930. Viewers can also share their experience by writing in to info@ccasociety.com / president@ccasociety.com / help@ccasociety.com. In addition to this youth can also confess something stupid they have done on the web by sharing their stories onmtvindia.com/webbed.

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Taking an initiative to create an awareness amongst youth against cyber abuse, MTV ACT, the leading youth iconic brand of MTV, in association with the NGO, Cyber Crime Awareness Society (CCAS) brings MTV Webbed- Cyber Abuse. Real Stories' (Balaji Telefilms and A Lost Boy Productions) - a new drama series that every youngster will relate to.

The show will feature a series of fictional representatives of real life cases and incidents that the youth encounter on the web. The show is backed by MTV's own pro social platform MTV Act that engages with a number of NGOs and independent organizations to support cause based initiatives across verticals. Starting from 14 September, the show will target youth between the age group of 15 to 24 years.

Speaking about the venture, Aditya Swamy, EVP and Business Head, MTV India said, "MTV has always been a mirror of what's happening in the world of the millennial and Webbed is that reflection. Given our obsession with pop culture, we can how young people are constantly changing. The only way to protect yourself is to think before you click."

A ten part series, the show will feature youth icons Jay Bhanushali, Siddharth Shukla, Karanvir Bohra, Rithvik Dhanjani, Priya Wal, Pratyusha Bannerjee, choreographer Salman Khan and singer-actor Meiyang Chang. Each will host an episode and will emphasize the natural instinct of youth who let curiously take the better of them only to regret it later and face the brutal consequences.

At a special media interaction, Rithvik went to say, "I have been a victim of cyber abuse when someone hacked my account and used it for their benefits. It was really a harassing situation."

Added Pratyusha who will be seen in the first episode of the show, "It's actually very stupid of people to hack profiles or misuse photos and details of innocent people. I don't know how many girls had to fight a tough battle surviving this ordeal."

With new cases coming to light each day, cyber abuse can no longer be swept under the carpet and given a blind eye. In recent times, cyber abuse has grown exponentially with each year without showing any signs of slowing down.

As Priya averred, "Internet was supposed to bring people closer but on the contrary it has made us confine to a room and lost in the virtual world."

Echoing her thoughts, Chang concluded, "It's very important to act smart and not share any of your important details to anyone. A small mistake can affect you for lifetime."

Well, this need of the hour show will definitely educate the youngsters to safely enjoy their time on the internet.

Catch MTV Webbed every Saturday 7 pm, starting 14 September (2013).