Local residents need to be alert on how predators groom children on social media platforms. Predators often set their sights on vulnerable children, such as those who are emotionally fragile or have less parental oversight. Jacques de Villiers, of Metrofibre Networx, said many children have access to a smart device of some sort – a phone, tablet or laptop – all connected to the internet.
“While online security has always been a concern for most parents, the changed circumstances have amplified the need for greater security awareness not only on how much screen time children spend online, but most crucially, what they could be exposed to,” said De Villiers.
“As important as the internet is to our daily lives, especially during lockdown, it also has a dark side.”
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“Cyber bullies, stalkers, hackers and wholly inappropriate content are also online, unfortunately, so make sure you spend the time to educate your children about the risks, how to identify and avoid them,” said De Villiers.
Take note of the following guidelines:
– Many predators initiate conversations on public chat apps such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or mostly in the chat section of games for kids, pretending to be younger than they really are.
– Their first interactions with the child are generally pleasant and include light conversation to lower defences and make their target feel important.
– The predator will attempt to deepen the relationship and gauge the level of threat he’s facing from the parents. In most cases, they might ask questions to see how closely the child’s devices are monitored and try to figure out whether the child would be believed if they told their parents about the relationship.
– During the current lockdown, kids may become more secretive about their online activity. One needs to pay attention if their attitude changes when discussing what they do on their devices. Here, the predator might try to separate the child from their family by establishing himself as the most important person to them.
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– After the child’s trust develops, the groomer may use sexually explicit conversations to test boundaries and exploit a child?s natural curiosity about sex. Predators often use pornography and child pornography to lower a child’s inhibitions and use their adult status to influence and control a child’s behaviour.
– While some perpetrators might attempt to meet their victims in person, others carry out their sexual abuse entirely online.
– When a predator starts to abuse a child, they will go to great lengths to maintain control and ensure the child is emotionally dependent on them.
– In most cases, the offender uses secrecy, blame, and even threats of retribution to keep children from saying anything. Let your kids know they can come to you when anyone asks them to do something they are not comfortable with, even if that person is an adult.
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