They typically engage in deceptive tactics to win the trust of their victims, children especially and then later carry out their bad intentions. These predators are people who use social media platforms to target, manipulate and exploit others, particularly vulnerable individuals for the purpose of harming them. “It can also lead to addiction, as the constant need for social validation and the fear of missing out of trending issues could make children overly dependent on social media platforms,” she added. It involves unauthorised access to a person’s social media profile and using their personal information, pictures and other details for deceptive purposes.Īlso, while using social media, she said children may come across violent contents which undoubtedly could have negative impacts on their mentality and potentially influence their behaviours.Īccording to Madam Boateng, the excessive use of social media could also interfere with children’s daily routines including their studies, physical activities and face-to-face social interactions.” Social media identity theft refers to the fraudulent act of stealing someone’s online identity through their social media accounts. She explained that since children may not fully understand the implications of sharing personal information on social media, oversharing could lead to privacy breaches and increase the risk of identity theft, stalking or other forms of online exploitations. Children who are active on social media, she said could therefore begin to compare themselves to others and start developing feelings of inadequacy, leading to lowered self-esteem and body image issues. Speaking at a girls’ mentorship programme for schoolgirls within the Ga North Municipality recently, a child protection advocate, Madam Elsie Boateng, said social media often promotes unrealistic standards of beauty, success and popularity. The medical doctor is currently serving a 25 years jail term at the Nsawam Maximum Security Prisons after a court found him guilty of committing the crime. Especially in our part of the world, where many children are more knowledgeable in managing smartphones than their parents or grandparents under whose care they are, things could get out of hand if care is not taken.Ĭhildren on social media stand the risk of being exposed to online predators who sometimes pose as peers, to gain the trust of children and manipulate them into sharing personal information, engaging in inappropriate conversations or even meeting them offline, putting the safety of these children at risk.Ī typical example is the case where a former Director of the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Takoradi, Dr Sulley Ali Gabass, managed to lure a teenage student of the Saint John’s Senior High School, Sekondi into his bed after contacting him via Facebook and ended up sodomising the minor. Some children, out of curiosity to know more, do not indicate their real ages as requested, when creating social media profiles.
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