Page 17 - index

Predators on social media

It’s easy to see then why kids love social media so much – they can instantly connect with their
peers, and collect “likes” and “upvotes” for their thoughts and pictures. Unfortunately, a predator can
also leverage these same social media features to lure in your pride and joy.

“OMG cat” (source: mashable.com)

They can even create convincing fake profiles to
trick your kids, as Youtuber Coby Persin shows in
his social media experiment in this video, where he
convinces young girls (with the permission of their
parents) to meet him in person with a fake
Facebook profile. While this hoax was roused to
teach the teens a lesson, it’s heartbreaking to
realize how easily they could have fallen victim to
a real predator.

Illegal activities and pornography

Unfortunately, when kids have questions they have the Internet at their fingertips. 93% of boys and
62% of girls have been exposed to pornography before the age of 18. This could influence them to
be promiscuous at a young age, or even share nude pictures or sexually-charged messages online.

And if that isn’t scary enough, thanks to the growing black market on the darknet, kids can now buy
drugs online. Drug trafficking on the internet is very convenient for people who otherwise might not
have those kind of connections. Even if your children aren’t surfing the underbelly of the internet,
they can easily learn about drugs, how to use them, and where to acquire them by conducting a
quick Google search.

How to stop cyber threats in their tracks

With all of the risks and dangers out there, it can
be tempting to ban your children from Internet
access entirely. You did have other things on your
mind than the Internet when you were a child, and
you turned out okay, right? Why can’t they just use
encyclopedias when they have to look something
up? What’s so bad about using the phone to call up
their friends?

Unfortunately, this kind of paranoia will not prepare
them for their technology-driven future, where
they’ll have to conduct themselves as adults
daily. Luckily, you don’t have to keep the keyboard under lock and key to ensure the safety of your
children.

17 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – October 2015 Edition
Copyright © Cyber Defense Magazine, All rights reserved worldwide