People say all the time that teenagers on social networks are too naive and that they aren't being safe. As a society, I think we'd like to believe that people are not stupid and can make good decisions. Of late, I found out about some fake profiles that were set up to humiliate members of a smallish community by anonymously asking for "gossip" and then posting the gossip on their page. Such things included claims that certain people were sending explicit pictures to each other, and that one man "bashed" women he had been with. It seemed crazy that this anonymous person had gathered some 159 friends in less than a day, and no one seemed to know who was behind it. Somehow, they were more intrigued by what the person behind the page was saying, than by what they were doing.
To look into the situation, I actually created a new profile for myself to message the page to add me so I could follow. In doing so, I took the opportunity to send friend requests to various people who were already friends with the page- many of them teenagers. I used an meme and a comic as profile and cover picture, standard trademark of a fake account, yet my requests were still accepted. I was baffled. And one was mere moments after sending it. No thought at all had gone into accepting the friendship and clearly not a care was given about who I could be. I am in fact 1300km away from them and in my mid twenties. I could easily be anywhere and an unsavoury type who was planning to trick them into any number of things, such as sending money, sending nefarious pictures.. or tricking them into a meet up.
I'm not sure what the answer is, but it seems the current education approach is not working. Children and teenagers "know" the dangers they face online, but they continue to ignore the warnings about being safe online. I must admit, I feel like quite a creep sending out all the friend requests, and plan to delete the account within a very short period of time.
The other problem is, its not even just the teenagers and children who are falling victim. Many adults too are adding random friends and chatting intimately with strangers. For the most part, this leads to scams for money, which is far far too common.
I'm not sure what the answer is, but it seems the current education approach is not working. Children and teenagers "know" the dangers they face online, but they continue to ignore the warnings about being safe online. I must admit, I feel like quite a creep sending out all the friend requests, and plan to delete the account within a very short period of time.
The other problem is, its not even just the teenagers and children who are falling victim. Many adults too are adding random friends and chatting intimately with strangers. For the most part, this leads to scams for money, which is far far too common.
As I delete my fake social media profile, I will be trying to think of some effective ways to educate children and adults alike, to save them from themselves!
Be blessed in all you do today,
Modern Melburnian x
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