Patiala, July 15,2002
With the craze for online chatting and the Internet somewhat diminished in the last year or so, the eighty odd cyber cafes owners in the city which wore a deserted look till recently have hit upon a rather bold way to attract back the customers. These cafes have taken to screening X-rated movies on the computer. And shockingly 90 per cent of their clients are schoolchildren and adolescents.

With a small cabin, a computer to yourself and practically no possibility of anyone snooping on you, the cafe gives these clients an environment which is about as private as it can get. Small wonder that erotica so easily and cheaply available is drawing young people in hordes to these cafes. The rates are as low as Rs 10 for an hour of viewing and Rs 15 for two hours.

Cyber cafes in the city introduced the screening of pornographic movies when faced with intense competition due to mushrooming of scores of such cafes and after their popularity hit an all time low with computer buffs calling it a day.

A couple of months ago the lone cyber cafe in the university campus was closed down following a raid on the premises during which pornographic CDs were seized. However, the fact that screening of X-rated movies is a cognizable offence under the cyber law Act has failed to deter these cafes. These cafes compound their offence by the added fact that they screen such films for the benefit of mostly minors.

No doubt that numerous pornographic sites are accessible through the Internet, however there is one drawback. The subscribers have to register their credit card number before downloading any X-rated film from these sites and as only adults can possess credit cards the cyber cafes have found a lucrative way to deal with this deterrent.

Moreover, the cafes have to spend even less than Rs 20 to rent a X-rated film CD and copy it onto the computer’s hard disk. Thereafter they charge a nominal Rs 10 for an hour of viewing from teenagers and school-going kids who come in a plenty to see such movies without the incumbent hassles of supplying credit card numbers.

Youngsters at a cyber cafe when questioned why they were there, said it was to make pen pals, chat or check their e-mails. Though none admitted to watching pornography themselves, they knew of others who did so. Most however thought it was just a passing phase whose attraction would ebb away with time.

On a condition of anonymity some cafe owners said that screening such movies was a compulsion not just to rake in the moolah but also the customers demanded it. They admitted to screening X-rated movies for school-going children but said that the children bunked school to watch these movie and turning them away would not deter them but only send them to another cafe which would cater to their demands.

 

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