Now that we live in an age where nearly every moment of our lives is displayed online for all the world to see (either by our own hand or a friend) parents need to be especially vigilant. Today, even posting innocent pics of your child or teen online could be dangerous; “A photo of your child could be part of a pedophilia ring that has been uncovered by police, and you won’t even know about it.”

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From the article:

“Australia made world news in 2016 with a website trading explicit photos of local school girls. The site even had pages dedicated to local Brisbane and Gold Coast high schools and fan pages – offering money to men who could find more explicit photos of their favorites.

Attempts to close down the site have been thwarted in a brazen disregard of the law.  And these girls, whose images have been used without consent, could be to this day, oblivious.”

Here are some things that pedophiles may find attractive when looking at photos on social media, from a Task Force police officer:

  • Obvious things: children in the bathtub, underwear, having a bath, or in a state of undress. Even well-placed emoticons covering your child’s genitals can be photoshopped off and genitals photoshopped back on to increase the ‘value’ of the photo. The officer who wrote the article says, “You can take me to South Bank beach at Brisbane on any given day and I will be able to point out lone males taking photos of children…. your children.”
  • Less obvious things: photos that can be altered to make your child/teen look like they are part of a sexual act.
  • Children of social media celebrities: “The more photos posted, and the more coverage the images gain, the more likely they are to come to the attention to pedophile groups and be subjected to their monstrous conversations and attentions. Similar to a teenage crush of a pop star, these photos become a platform for imaginings, fantasies and lewd behaviours.  The internet has now allowed predators to openly discuss their fetishes, and because they have the support of their monstrous tribe, they now have a place to ‘normalise’ and ‘strategise’ dysfunctional thoughts and fantasies.”

Things to consider BEFORE you post pictures of your kids:

  • Is there room to ‘superimpose’ another person into the image?
  • Are they in a state of undress?
  • Do you have a public social media page? Pedophiles can develop a ‘child crush.’ If this happens, your child doesn’t even have to be in a state of undress for the photo to become a commodity.

Things to consider with your teen’s social media page:

  • Duck faces and posed photos are used as baseline trading images on predator sites.
  • Swimwear and underwear shots are more valuable.
  • If your teen has a public account, predator rings can approach their friends or enemies for more explicit photos and will pay money for them.

(SENSITIVE MATERIAL: The officer writes, “There is one photo in particular that I remember which causes me pain daily – a 6 month old in just a nappy with the most beautiful angelic smile laying on a bed – and a naked man entering the babies bedroom.   This child looked like my babies – your babies.  And the horror that I could not reach through that screen and save that child scratches at my brain.”)

Again, now more than ever, families have to be careful about what they post online. Sexual predators are always on the lookout for new kids to prey on, sex trafficking is running rampant in large cities all over the world, and the internet has made us all closer than we realize.

Think before you post.

Source: Nutritionally Wealthy