With the current rise in social media usage, should more precautions be put into place on apps such as Instagram when talking to strangers?
Social media is an easy way of meeting new people and talking to friends or family. It can particularly be useful when couples face long-distance relationships or to keep in touch with friends and family who live far away.
According to pew research, 4 in 10 couples in same-sex relationships meet online and this figure is bound to grow with the increasing use of social media and access to the internet (3.8 billion people use social media currently). People can video call, chat, and send messages back and forth, with some people feeling they know each other so well that they start dating online without even having met each other. There are plenty of platforms including Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktok, etc. where you can meet new people and talk to them.
While this can be seen as a positive thing, it can also obviously have a very dangerous side to it. When talking to someone online it can be easy to forget that you don’t actually know them, and you can never be sure that they aren’t hiding behind a fake persona. This is an environment in which grooming young people thrives, as often people can become naïve and begin to put their trust in someone they have never actually met.
There have been many cases where people have sent explicit photos or videos, their location, and even bank details to people they have only exchanged a few messages to, and have faced massive consequences. Many cases of fraud occur online where someone has created a fake persona and lures another person into a fake relationship or friendship, where they eventually end up asking for money or personal details. People can end up in debt from this, or even losing their job if explicit photos and videos get leaked- and it is often hard to track down the people who have done it.
This is particularly concerning for vulnerable age groups such as young children, teens, and the elderly. Young children can easily be groomed by pedophiles into giving personal details and sending explicit videos and pictures as they are too young to understand- and this can pose a massive threat to their safety. Teens can also be groomed by others, and this can pose a serious threat to their safety if they go a step further than talking online by meeting the person they are talking to, as these scenarios have previously lead to kidnapping and assaults in some cases. The elderly are also vulnerable when talking to people online as they are often unaware of the dangers of talking to people online- especially if the technology they are using is confusing for them. As well as this, if they suffer from conditions such as Dementia, they can be even more at risk of being groomed and can easily give away personal details without realizing it.
Overall, meeting people online can be an easy way of meeting new friends and romantic partners, but you should also be very cautious as you can easily be lured into believing someone is something that they aren’t- and this can have serious consequences. Parents should also ensure to monitor young children and schools should continue to educate teens on internet safety so they can be aware of the dangers of talking to people online, and also ensure they have some privacy settings so that people are not able to view personal details e.g. their location. The elderly should also be educated on the dangers of talking to people online, especially since technology can be quite a new and confusing thing for a lot of them.
By Kira Aspland
