The Naples boy was just 9 years old when he went into the bathroom in his home and posted nude videos on YouTube. Those videos eventually ended up in a global trading network and on a computer file of a predator in Australia.
“It happened right in the bathroom of their own home,” said Sgt. Wade Williams of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Special Crimes Bureau and Internet Crimes Against Children’s Task Force. Parents “would not let a person off the street into their home, but they do [exactly that] when they let a child have a device without any restrictions.”
Williams said he has seen local children as young as 6 become a victim online. “Younger kids are not able to command operation of social media, but they [are able to] post videos on YouTube,” he explained.
For tweens, Williams tells the story of an 11-year-old from Naples who was befriended by an adult man in Missouri, who wanted her to travel by bus to meet him. Fortunately, he was identified and caught before the girl left Naples. Williams has story after story like these of Collier County children, and says it all begins at home. “The number one place of self-produced videos by the child is in the safety of their [own] bedroom or bathroom,” he said.
Children becoming social media victims goes beyond predators stalking the internet. Williams said the most significant threat can be a child’s peers who gain access to videos or photos and post them or bully the victim with the threat of posting something.
Three Things Parents Can Do
While this is alarming for any parent, there are steps you can take to keep your kid safe. According to Williams, the most effective actions a parent can take are:
• Prohibit all electronic devices in a child’s room at night, or ever in the bathroom. “There is no reason a child needs a device at 2 a.m. in their bedroom or in the bathroom,” he stressed.
• Set up parental controls on all devices. “Nothing is 100%, but there are parental devices that do a lot. Some of them are free; some of them cost $6 a month.”
• Talk to your kids. “The first conversation should not be on a device, it should be with your kid,” Williams said. “It should be with the parent, not with a predator.”
Digital citizenship
Technology teachers in Collier County Public Schools begin teaching internet safety in kindergarten. “It is to put the foundation in place so our students are safe online,” said Lindy George, TSA (teacher on special assignment), digital innovation/STEAM specialist with CCPS. “We try to give them a very well rounded education in digital citizenship.”
Students are taught how to avoid cyberbullying, and how to leave a positive digital footprint. Teachers focus on what is safe to do online, rather than overwhelm students with a multitude of rules about what not to do, George said. Students also are taught how to find reliable websites. “The challenge is [that] there is overwhelming information on the internet. They need to learn what is relevant and accurate,” added Jonathan Woofter, coordinator of professional learning and instructional innovation at CCPS.
Teachers stress the importance of each child’s digital footprint. “Once you put it online, you just can’t delete it,” George said. “What is that persona you want to create online? Don’t post anything you are not proud of.”
In 2019, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received 16.9 million cyber tips on the exploitation of children. That same year CCSO worked hundreds of cyber tips that included suspects exploiting local children. CCSO says many more go unreported. Most child victims are exploited on an electronic device that was provided by their parents, in the safety of their own home – many times when their parents were in the next room. Officers recommend parents check their child’s device, read messages, and view web activity at least once a week.
The experts also offered the following advice for parents to share with your kids:
• Make all accounts private.
• Never meet someone in real life whom you met online.
• Don’t accept any “friends” or followers that you don’t know in real life.
• Never share personal problems online; bad people can use these against you.
• Never share your passwords with anyone, except your parents, even if you think it is one of your friends, as accounts can be hacked.
• Never share personal information such as your birthdate, phone number, school name, or address with anyone online without parental approval.
• Don’t create or send any inappropriate images or videos of yourself; they can be used to threaten or bully you.
• Tell a trusted adult, like a parent, relative, counselor, or police officer, if anything inappropriate happens online, such as things that you think are wrong or that make you feel sad or scared.
CCSO advises that if you believe your child is a victim of internet exploitation, take their devices immediately, prohibit all access to any electronic devices, and immediately make a report to law enforcement.