Abstract
Advances in technology have provided people with unparalleled opportunities to communicate efficiently and in real time. Adults with an inappropriate sexual interest in children have also benefited from developments in information and communications technology, using it to establish contact with them, to develop relationships, and to groom potential victims for sexual abuse and exploitation. Based on this, this study examined how social media has become a gateway for online child grooming. The study was anchored on the luring communication theory. The study adopted in-depth interview as its research design. The study used purposive sampling technique to draw a sample size of 15 experts. Findings from the study revealed that since the introduction of social media platforms, the amount of child sexual abuse content has been increasing yearly as these platforms have become a channel that offenders use in soliciting and sharing of explicit images and videos of minors.
TopIntroduction
Social Media platforms have become an essential part of present-day life as they play major roles in the educational and social growth of children. However, they also expose children to new and advancing forms of sexual exploitation by sexual predators (Brown, 2017). One of the increasing risks is online child grooming. Online child grooming simply put, is when someone who disguises as a minor, befriends a child online, builds up their trust and develops a relationship with the child, with the intention of exploiting and harming the child (Childnet, n.d.). Every child has the possibility of being groomed, regardless of age, gender, race or location. Some children may have higher chances of getting groomed online due to special educational needs, disabilities, or other vulnerabilities and may find gaining support from an adult they trust hard (“Childnet”, n.d.).
The fast growth of technologies, boost in mobile infiltration and successive growth of the use of the internet (Roser, Ritchie & Ortiz-Ospina, 2015) led to many studies of the effect of the latter. One of the frequently used points of view in favor of providing children with access to the internet is its positive impact on their academic performance (Carter, Greenberg & Walker, 2016). Having access to a technology device at home and internet connection seems to be as essential as self-learning skills (Yesilyurt et al., 2014) and it is effectively used as a subsidiary learning source in schools (Siraj et al., 2015). Presently, the internet is a preferable way of getting swift and varied data than going to mainstream sources such as libraries (Kumah, 2015). Alongside the positive features linked with the growth of the internet, there are various risks children can become exposed to online and the effect these risks can have on children is significant. Online child abuse experiences can lead to psychological, emotional, safety and health-related issues for children (Alqahtan et al., 2017).
A topic drawing an increasing level of media and research attention in recent years is the safety of children online especially children on social media platforms. In accordance to the study of 11 countries done by Silver, 79% of responders are very worried about children's exposure to vile and dangerous content online (Silver et al., 2019). Understanding the scale of the concern requires deliberation of multiple aspects. Nearly every age group of children is represented online in some capacity. For example, among the 12- to 15-year-old group, 83% have their own smart phones and among 5- to 7-year-olds, 42% have their own tablets usually with connection to the internet (Ofcom, 2019). Between 80% and 93% of children have access to social media platforms on their phones; nearly 60% are reported to have more than 100 friends and 65% of children who have social media profiles connect with “new friends'' online (GSMA, 2016). In the environment of social media, half of the children set up their profiles to public and 20% of them have no idea on how to make their profiles private (Alqahtan et al., 2017). The blend of these factors means children are extremely represented online and later on highly open to online sexual predatory behaviors, leading to online grooming, sexual abuse and exploitation. This research studies how social media has become a gateway for online child grooming.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Child Prostitution: Prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent.
Cybersex Trafficking: Is a cybercrime involving sex trafficking and the live streaming of coerced sexual acts and/or rape on webcam. Cybersex trafficking is distinct from other sex crimes. Victims are transported by traffickers to ‘cybersex dens’.
Minor: Someone under a certain age, usually the age of majority, which legally demarcates childhood or an underage individual from adulthood. The age of majority depends upon jurisdiction.
Online Child Grooming: Simply put, is when someone (under disguise or not) as a minor befriends a child online and builds up their trust and develops a relationship with the child, with the intention of exploiting and harming the child.
Fantasy Defense: Where a defendant accused of attempting a crime (enticing minors into sexual activity, for example) claims that they never intended to complete the crime. Instead, they claim they were engaged in a fantasy and, in the case of luring a minor, believed they were dealing with an adult.
Pedophilia: A psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children.
Child Sexual Abuse: Also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation.
Kohlberg's Moral Development Theory: Is a study of how children acquire morality and moral reasoning.