Princess In Cyber World -Part II Online Grooming

                                Princess in Cyber World Part II

In the last article, we have read the story of the princess in the Cyber world. In continuous  to this we will discuss  

1.     The concept of online grooming.

2.     The process of Cyber Grooming

3.     Types of Cyber Groomers

4.     Why this is happening/ Why teens are becoming victims in this cyber Grooming?

5.     Who is at risk?

6.     Warning signs

7.     What to do

1. The Concept of Cyber Grooming and how it starts!!

Young people are naturally curious and  engage in online discussions about things  that they can not openly discuss in the real world.

Internet predators hack the sites which are made for youngsters ,they search  for potential victims by location or interest. Our Teensren who are not expose to the real world problems, challenges may get in to the trap of this ‘Nice’ people (Predators). Teenagers are particularly at high risk because they often use the computer unsupervised and also they participate more in the online discussion about sexual activity.

Online grooming is a process that can take place start in shorter time and gets extended over a longer period .  Eg. Princess in Cyber world. Kirti’s friend Innamdar …

Initial conversations online can appear innocent, but often involves some level of deception.

Online grooming is a criminal offense and occurs when an adult uses electronic communication (including social media) in a predatory fashion .In this process teens’ shyness to the social media might be used as a weapon to lower his moral or heighten their curiosity regarding sex, to eventually meet them in person for the purposes of sexual activity. This can include online chats, sexting, and other interactions.

The cyber grooming process itself can happen quickly, however, the negative impact on the victim can be long-term. In addition to feeling violated and betrayed, a teens who has been groomed may feel responsible for  deserving of the abuse, leading to self-blame and low self-esteem.

2. The process may start with

There are multiple ways

·        Sending innocuous(innocent) invitation for friendship on social media.

·        Chatting with them through different chatting apps

·        They get fascinated by the new word, apps they heard in the surrounding and try to indulged into it. Eg 4^th std tinder app,,Sr kg Son was demanding for Tiktok video.  8^th std girl online dating app, 7^th std daughter’s frined Scratching game(Scratch Day)  on FB will can earn money.

But they are not aware the after effects of the same.

Chit chat with the teens every day, pretending the teens that the predator is the teens's best friend. Initially lie about his age or may never reveal his real age to the teens, even after forming an established online relationship. Here the predator asks the teens his area of interest, chat with the teens about his/her area of interest. He tries to pretend that his and his teens's interests, style, hobbies are the same.  So that teens will feel that yes this virtual friend is so much interested in me and I am so lucky to have a friend like him. He tries to develop trust.  After some days the predator discusses with the teens about personal matters. They speak with the teens for a long time every day. They  pretend the teens that he/she  is not alone. Your little one  has got the best friend and they are  always available for the teens. Slowly they discuss with the teens about sexual activities, porn pictures, porn videos and they  convince the teens to send  naked images, videos and asks him to perform a sex act on a webcam. and use their adult status to influence and control a teens's behavior. This can take place via all forms of digital technologies. Social media, gaming sites, email, instant messaging programs, forums and chat rooms with a young person and gain their trust.

Flatter and compliment the teens excessively, sends gifts, and they invests time, money, and energy to groom the teens

Develop an online relationship that is romantic, controlling, and upon which the teens becomes dependent.

 Finally It takes a few months to build that level of trust, but once they do, They make them believe that they're doing the right thing and address the teens as their 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend'. A lot of these online groomers even try to blackmail teens by telling them that the sexual photos will be sent to their parents, family and friends.

3.Types of Cyber Groomers

Distorted Attachment: A groomer who believes he is in a romantic and consenting relationship with the young person he is grooming. Unlike what most people think about groomers, this particular offender reveals(Exposes) his identity to the victim. He spends a great deal of time becoming friendly with his victim before they meet face to face.

Adaptable Offender: They use many identities online, adapting his grooming style to suit his purposes. This offender may or may not use indecent images, but he will view the person he is grooming as being sexually mature. It is not his objective to always meet the young person in real life.

Hyper-Sexual Offender: Focuses on sharing and securing extensive numbers of indecent images of teens. This offender will be part of an online network of sexual offenders, but who has very little, if no,

This kind of offender is not interested at all to meet his victim face to face. The researchers say this type of groomer will likely use various identities or a sexually explicit profile name and photo to make fast contact with a young person.

 

 

4. Why this is happening/ Why teens are becoming victims in this cyber Grooming?

1.     The increasing possession of smartphones, in the very early age and its increased day to day use  is the gateway to potential risks that negatively affect bio-psycho-social well-being.

2.     Too much freedom offered by parents as teens are not aware that ‘freedom always comes with responsibility’.

3.     Teens are using media  without the supervision of the parents.

4.     Parents are lacking in digital /Cyber parenting.

5.     Lack of Technical awareness among parents.

6.     Lack of Ethical, Legal awareness and its consequences about cyber World among parents and Teenagers.

7.     Lack of KYC(Know your child) about your teens.

5. Who’s  at Risk?

All these teens are at risk who are using the media without  knowing the rules and regulations of this cyber world. Online predators will focus on those who are vulnerable, who are emotional, who is changing status and dp often, who is a new player on social media. At the same time teens who are sharing the family information, personal information, sharing all photos on social media, who are there on social media 24/7.  These teens will be a target of these cyber groomers.

6. Warning Signs

Here are a few signs that you need to recognize –

IF

1.     Observe drastic changes in the behavior of your teens.

2.     Spending more time on social media and missing hobby class, school for that.

3.     To spend more time(than usual) on the internet

4.     The interest in social media is increasing day by day and drastically.

5.     They are  being secretive and evade questions when it comes to the websites they visit, the people they talk to and chat with

6.     Become emotional quite often

7.     Using sexual language that they otherwise would never know

8.     Possess electronic items without your(parents) knowledge

9.     Open new tabs or switch off the monitor when you walk in

10.                        Receiving or making calls to numbers that you don't recognize

11.                        Receiving unexplained gifts (mobile phones or extra credit vouchers are common)

Anyone of these should be taken as an alarming situation.

7.Being a parent what has to be done.

Base of any relationship always depends upon communication.

Be a friend of your teens.

Keep open communication among you and your teens.

Don't be too strict with your teens.

It is very important to talk to your teens about these issues so that they know that you are aware of things they may confront in their online lives something feels odd or strange then it probably is.

Make the relationship of trust and confidence with your teens.

Try and be a part of what the social networks that your teens follows. It gets easier to monitor and you even gain enough knowledge and can keep a check on them.

Do KYC (Know your teens)

Cyber Parenting of your teens.

Make aware your teens about the rules and regulations of the Cyber world

Try to tell your teens the difference between the real world and the Cyber world.

Stay alert, stay focused and stay happy

For teenss -

Teens, keep the ‘child’ within you

Have a healthy  relationship with your parents.

Talk to them

Share with them anything and everything which you feel like ,about your virtual friends, any incidence which you will observe online.

Try to follow Cyber Hygiene.

Involve your parents in your virtual networking

Trust your parents.

#Cyber Crimes#Cyber Awareness#Cyber Law#Princess in Cyber World#Dr.Deepti Lele