How Predators Use Instagram to Groom Kids (Part 2)
#InstagramDirectMessaging
This blog is Part 2 of a two-part blog on how sexual predators navigate Instagram and connect with your kids.
In this Blog…..
Instagram Direct Messages (2-minute read)
Instagram Comments (3-minute read)
Quick Recap
Hiding Behind a Fake Profile
We’ve seen how easy it is for sexual predators to set-up fake profiles on Instagram pretending to be girls or boys who are “friends” of their next victim. Much research has been done by law enforcement to understand how easy it is for sexual predators to hide behind a fake identity and use it to lure unsuspecting kids.
“Anyone can search, anyone can look through the information, and then they (kids) just accepting follow requests. It’s really easy to lie about who you are on these social media applications.”
It’s so important to teach our kids not to accept Follow (or Friend) requests from someone they don’t know but to think about who the person is behind the profile.
We’ve taught our kids to watch out for strangers in the physical world (in the neighborhood, at the park, at school or church). We need to teach and instruct our kids with the same urgency and importance about online strangers. There are millions of sexual predators online and they are hiding behind pretty profiles.
Pew Research
Quick Recap
Instagram Hashtags
Hashtags are just one tool in the sexual predator toolbox to lure and groom their victims.
In Part 1 of this blog we talked about how an aspiring #teendesigner is innocently connected with a not-so-innocent sexual predator who used the same hashtag to attract her attention.
It’s like going shopping at your favorite store for a new pair of boots and you open the boot box expecting to find an amazing pair of new boots to try on and instead you find a pornographic image or video waiting for you. You didn’t put it there. You didn’t want it there. You didn’t want to see it. But……you did.
Well, that’s our kids. They don’t have to go looking for it. It finds them.
Next up: Instagram Direct Messages.
True or False?
Setting your child’s Instagram account to Private protects your child from being contacted by a stranger.
FALSE!!!
Anyone can Direct Message you on Instagram.
And, a picture or video can be attached to the DM.
Haven’t you ever received those overly complimentary messages from a complete stranger, trying to get your attention?
Messages like, “I really like your profile. Let’s connect. You look (insert complimentary adjective). “
Once the Predator is able to start the conversation, they start asking questions.
If you are an adult reading this, and you probably are, doesn’t that kind of message raise some suspicion for you? You might ask yourself normal questions like,
“Who is this person?
Do I know them?
How did they find me?
What are they interested in? I wonder what this person wants?”
For some of you, your curiosity leads you to text that person asking who they are. Or you might respond with “thank you”.
But in the mind of a child or a teen, they don’t have the situational awareness to critically think about who this person really is. Many times they start to interact and “be nice” back.
Many teens have stated they suspected the person they were messaging might have bad intentions, but they didn’t want to hurt their feelings or let them down. So they kept “talking” with them.
Sexual predators use the vulnerability of kids to their advantage as part of their systematic grooming process.
Next: Comments
Predators use their own comments to draw attention to themselves—to advertise the goods they are pedaling. Many sexual predators are peddlers of illegal child pornographic content.
Once they are able to coerce a child to take inappropriate pictures of themselves or to abuse themselves physically, they circulate those images among their community of sexual predators.
Predators use Instagram Comments, which are publically visible to teens and children of all ages.
And, you know, sometimes kids are just curious who is posting such disgusting comments and they will click on the profile name or image.
The comments will advertise what the Predator is looking for….”I’m feeling horny.”
“Anyone want to exchange photos in dropbox 😋 😍 undrage “
Many people have complained how comments are getting out of hand. And you can use Instagram’s reporting feature to try and get the profile removed.
But as we talked about in the previous log, the Predator will take down the profile and in minutes another one appears.
Contact
lynette@dontclickconsutling.com for more information on how to book a talk at your school, church or group.
