Become an advocate for the young people in your life.
PROTECT YOUR LOVED ONES BY ENGAGING THEM IN TOUGH CONVERSATIONS AND PROVIDING SUPPORT IN THE MIDST OF EXPLOITIVE SITUATIONS.
Social Media Safety
Social media is great to be able to connect with others any time, any where. Social networking sites are more popular than ever, and they’ve changed the way people use the Internet.These sites allow people to keep in touch with their friends, share links, plan events, and more.
For many teens and even younger kids, online social networking is an important part of their lives because it lets them talk to their friends no matter where they are. Social networks aren’t a bad thing, but there are a few risks your kids will need to be aware of.
Social networks involve a lot of sharing, including photos, videos, links, and personal information. Many kids and teens enjoy sharing these things with their friends, but they may actually be sharing information with more people than they realize. For example, a recent study found that 68 percent of teens have accepted friend requests from strangers, and 8 percent have accepted every friend request they’ve received. This means their “friends” may not be people they can trust.
The ease of connecting and the inclination to put everything online also means that perpetrators have easy access to our youth. The use of cyber space to facilitate human trafficking and exploitation is growing as the world continues to transform digitally. New technologies have enabled these criminals the ability to adapt their operating models for cyberspace. Human traffickers incorporate technology and use digital platforms to advertise, recruit, and exploit victims.
Learn how to Protect your Kids
Parent Connections: Social Media Exploitation will teach you how exploiters leverage the internet to their advantage and walk through action steps that parents and caregivers can do to ensure the safety of their children online.
We will discuss the ways social media has been used to groom and exploit young victims. We will educate you on the warning signs to be aware of on your loved ones accounts. We will also review some tips to being safe on social media along with some helpful scripting to start tough conversations about sexually explicit images often shared.
Hear from a Survivor and Cyber Security Expert
Meet Alisa Gbiorczyk. Her mission is to provide the world with human trafficking research, presentations, training, and assistance.
As a human trafficking survivor, she uses her voice, professional training, research background, and personal experience to disrupt human trafficking networks worldwide. In her work, she emphasizes how technological advances have allowed criminals to exploit and enslave individuals worldwide without being restricted by borders.
For more resources on social media safety:
https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/internetsafetyforkids/using-social-networks-safely/1/#
