Anonymous wrote:As parents of teens, I think there are several things that you need to think about with respect to this article:
1. The article mentioned how all the victims were suffering from some underlying psychological problems and these predators seek them out. For the vast majority of everyday kids, if they are approached by a random on the Internet they tell them f**k off...and that's the end of it.
2. The main person in the article was researching some pretty extreme content to start...gore fiction. Clearly, these predators know where to find their victims, so make sure you understand what your kids are trying to search for.
3. My one kid is a huge STEM kid and Discord is a useful platform for seeking out programming information, sharing code, etc. I honestly don't know why Discord is so much better than other sites...but it has great utility for the 99% of people using it for good purposes. I would imagine that the forums my kid is on are also not great forums for predators, because these kids know how to unmask identities so predators stay away
4. You need to be probably more aware about straight financial extortion scams. Some criminal organization poses as an attractive male / female on a mainstream platform, convinces your kid to send a naked pic and then extorts them for $$$s. That is a much more common occurrence than what is profiled in this article. Of course, I told my kids don't send any naked pics to anyone, even BF/GF. Don't send any to a stranger.
If you as a teen have a lapse in judgment and still do the above, these scammers don't like dealing with people who are problematic. Tell them you don't give a f**k if they send the picture to everyone at school (which is really an empty threat) and you are alerting the authorities. That will normally be the end of that.
Yes, it is ugly out there...best thing you can do is raise healthy, adjusted kids.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This article is horrifying, specifically calls out grooming kids online including on Roblox. All parents whose kids have access to the internet should read- please be aware that this is becoming increasingly common. (Gift link below).
https://wapo.st/4cb7bi9
I blame the parents.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The internet is not a safe place for children. Congress must act to regulate it now.
Hahaha
No parents should do their jobs.
It is not that hard.
You have an infantile understanding of the scope and scale of the problem if that's the conclusion you've reached. You're not informed enough to engage in this conversation. See your way out.
Anonymous wrote:This article is horrifying! We don't let our kids chat online or have access to social media. Our oldest is 13 and asked for a discord account, but we told him no. He can play video games with this friends, but they talk over the phone or on a zoom call - not through the chat function on the game.
But at some point, we'll have to let them have access to these things and teach them how to navigate it.
Anonymous wrote:This article is horrifying! We don't let our kids chat online or have access to social media. Our oldest is 13 and asked for a discord account, but we told him no. He can play video games with this friends, but they talk over the phone or on a zoom call - not through the chat function on the game.
But at some point, we'll have to let them have access to these things and teach them how to navigate it.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Can we talk for a minute about the sick f**ks that are doing this to these kids?
What is wrong with these guys? How do they have the time and energy to create hundreds of telegram accounts?
I am so disturbed by the sheer volume perverts out there on the internet.
It sounds like Telegram makes much more of an effort than Meta, but it still sounds like they are playing whack a mole.
That was the part of the story I was missing. Like how did that kid get that away so young? Also a victim originally?
Anonymous wrote:Can we talk for a minute about the sick f**ks that are doing this to these kids?
What is wrong with these guys? How do they have the time and energy to create hundreds of telegram accounts?
I am so disturbed by the sheer volume perverts out there on the internet.
It sounds like Telegram makes much more of an effort than Meta, but it still sounds like they are playing whack a mole.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:The internet is not a safe place for children. Congress must act to regulate it now.
They need to ban much more than Tiiktok. Why are Discord and Telegram allowed at all if they cannot stop this abuse?!
Tik tok is literally the calmest of the apps. They don't want it because China controls it and it pisses them off they don't have control.
I realize the China part with Tiktok, but the article states the other sites would change if they were made legally responsible for what is encouraged on their platforms. Why is there no talk of making this happen? I can't imagine Congress is unaware.