Let me start by saying I am absolutely sure there are pedophiles on facebook. It's a law of averages. Even if 0.0001% of the population is pedophiles (though I hope it's even less than that), there are so many people on facebook that the numbers dictate there are bound to be a few pedophiles on there. That, combined with the fact that pedophiles frequently use social media to locate and "groom" their victims (though it seems more common on MySpace), and you've got a pretty solid guarantee that their are a few lurking around the social network.
However, that doesn't mean that joining a group or including yourself in a trend is being somehow used by pedophiles to gain access to your kid, whether through your pictures or their accounts. Mainly because it's too much effort.
The internet is a realm of instant accessibility and feedback. The image I used for this article is on the first page if you Google image search for "pretty little girl". In researching this article, I've also possibly ended myself up on some FBI watch lists (if I wasn't there already). Hey feebies, it's just for an article, promise.
But my point is, pedophiles don't need to jump through a bunch of elaborate hoops on facebook to get pictures of kids. If they're on facebook, they already have the whole internet right there. They could even find child pornography if they wanted it. The b/ board on 4Chan is notorious for being full of pedophiles.
If you want to keep your kid safe online, the answer is simple, but the execution is not: be involved. Know what they're posting, and who they're talking to.
And please stop flooding my facebook feed with alarmist urban myths.
1 comment:
I know of a woman pedophile on Face book (Angie Miller) and she uses the cover of an amber alert poster as a guise for her cover. About 12 years ago she was hopped up on drugs and watched and joined in as her husbands brother molested her twin daughters. She and her husband went to jail on drug charges. While the brother got custody of the children! He molested them right up to their 15th birthday! This made the news in Mount Airy NC in 2008. The mom (now out of jail) had regained custody but the children were taken away after more abuse and neglect charges were filed. Sadly to say, the hoax about the cartoon pics on FB were enhanced by Angie Miller. It is very sad that this person is allowed to be on Face Book at all. But no serious attempt by social networks are in place to protect our children. I guess the question is, could there ever be?
Post a Comment