The Warning Signs of Social Media Sex Traffickers and How to Keep Yourself Safe.
By Isabella Szklany
In light of the recent Senate hearing on social media’s inability to keep youth safe online, it is now more important than ever to continue the fight to keep teens safe by raising awareness about the tools and resources available to protect young internet users.
At the Senate hearing, senators questioned TikTok, Meta, Snapchat, X, and Discord’s CEOs on the spread of sexual exploitation online. This is a highly sensitive topic to discuss, but education about this topic is crucial for protecting you and your friends online. That’s why you should read and discuss this article with a trusted adult or guardian who can try to answer any questions you may have.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Child Sexual Exploitation is when individuals prey on those under the age of 18 by obtaining pornographic photos and videos of a minor, sexually abusing the child, or involving them in sex trafficking practices.
With the creation of social media, these individuals have turned their efforts online. The Child Crime and Prevention Safety Center reports that “an estimated 89 percent of sexual advances directed at children occur in Internet chatrooms or through instant messaging.” In addition, recent research from the Stanford Internet Observatory found that out of 325,000 analyzed posts in two days, 112 posts contained occurrences of “Child Sexual Abuse Material,” and 554 instances of content were identified as “sexually explicit” (p.6)
While these numbers make up less than 1% of all content analyzed, the impact on a child experiencing sexual exploitation is unmeasurable and extremely destructive. Here are some warning signs of sex traffickers on social media and some tips to stay safe online.
You get a follower request or a direct message from someone you do not know. Sex traffickers will create a fake account using a profile picture of someone who looks similar to your age. While the picture may indicate they are someone you could trust, the reality is they are an individual many years older than you and may seek to cause you harm.
The person will try to establish trust with you. Typically, they start by asking you to keep small secrets. Over time, they will try to create a romantic relationship with you by commenting on your posts, making overly flattering comments about you, and reassuring you that they care for you.
They ask for you to send inappropriate pictures of yourself and get increasingly demanding over time.
When you are on video calls with them, they claim that their camera won’t work, and if you suggest another device, they will say that that camera doesn’t work. More simply, they will come up with any excuse not to show a real-time video of themselves.
They begin to threaten you. Common threats include sharing inappropriate photos with friends or family.
These are some warning signs of sex traffickers online. As a general rule of thumb, when interacting with people online you have never met offline, please use high levels of caution and exit the situation immediately if it feels wrong.
More information about warning signs of sex traffickers can be found at Plan International, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Polaris Project, whose resources provided the crucial information for this article.
The first step to keeping yourself safe online is knowing how to spot the dangers. The second is knowing how to keep yourself safe. As you log on to social media, remember these tips for keeping yourself safe and how to get help if needed.
Tips to Keep Yourself Safe Online
Keep your account private.
Only accept friend requests from people you know in real life.
If you have plans to meet someone you met online in real life, make sure it is in a public place, let others know where you will be, and share the person’s profile with
them. Better yet, bring a friend or trusted family member with you.
If someone threatens you online, get help immediately by talking to a trusted adult and
law enforcement.
Never share what school you go to, your address, phone number, or any other personal
information.
Block the person’s profile and report them to the social media platform. Here are links to
how to block and report individuals on various sites.
a. TikTok
b. Instagram
c. Facebook
d. Snapchat
e. Twitter/X
f. Discord
Information Courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security
In addition to these tips, when targeted by a predator online, your first steps should always be to report the sex trafficker to your local police department, alert a parent or trusted adult, and seek help through the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Altering someone that you are a victim of sex trafficking can stir up feelings of embarrassment and feeling scared or threatened. However,
Just remember that help is always available and that you are never alone.
About the author:
Isabella Szklany recently graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she studied for her Master of Science in Media and Communications (Research). Her research interests include social media effects on behavior, focusing on one’s habits and well-being. Through her research, Isabella aims to educate the public on how to navigate online platforms safely. She is currently working as a copywriter for a software company in NYC.