XI Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2019

We all know that the Net contains so many awful things such as drugs trafficking, snuff-content, personal information trade and other illegal stuff. It’s very nasty to be aware that there is this filth among us. But in this article, I would like to tell you about pedophilia on the Internet and how to protect our children.

Firstly, I would like to tell you about how pedophiles work. Pedophiles often find their victims on a messenger boards and social networks. They search the open accounts of children and teens and start to chat with them. Their aim is to get into their trust. Using the methods of social engineering they collect private information and intimate photos, often to sell them on the “darknet” or try to make an appointment.

Below is a fragment of a blog from Scientific American magazine

“A recent report by the Internet Safety Technical Task Force says that child exploitation on the Net and elsewhere is worrisome but online social networks, such as Facebook and MySpace, are not to blame for the bulk of it since most reported cases predated their existence.

Among other findings: children are unlikely to be propositioned by adults online unless they are willing participants and are already at risk because of poor home environments, substance abuse or other problems. And, despite some high-profile cases (for example, MySpace was sued in 2006 lawsuit by a 14-year-old girl who said she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old man she met on the site, according to Reuters), "bullying and harassment, most often by peers, are the most frequent threats that minors face," both online and offline.”

Secondly, let me tell you about ways HOW to detect these sexual predators. As we already saw they always in search for new victims. If in your child’s mailbox or messenger suspicious letters from unknown or incognita person appear, block their access to this. Don’t try to catch them in the act, this must be done by the appropriate authorities. Make a complaint to the account on the messenger or social network or if there is weighty evidence of pedophile activity (criminal sends intimate photos or tries to meet your child) - report to the police. Also, you can block the access for your child to this site but often children find other ways to still go online. Try to warn your children about the danger of sexual predators: tell them that there are some “bad guys” that want to harm them. Ask them to tell you about such events.

In the conclusion I must say that pedophilia is global problem of our society. It uses the new ways of existence. We nip this in the bud to defend our children from this terrible thing. Only vigilance can help us on this way.

(https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/news-blog/social-networking-pedophilia-how-b-2009-01-15/):