Social media provides quick communication between all your friends and family. Unfortunately, social media is also a weapon used by predators. Everyone knows to stay away from strangers but what we do not emphasize enough is staying away from them online as well. Almost every day you can see a child playing with their parents, or their own, smartphone. With this rapid progression of technology, more and more kids have access to the internet and social media. Without parental supervision, kids everywhere can be in danger. What kind of danger? Let me tell you.
People know to not talk to strangers in person. However, when it comes to chatting with them online, it somehow is considered more safe. The way our younger generation socializes online is alarming and can put them in grave danger.
Now, social experiments are used to gather data in a social standing. Whether you pretend to be homeless and see how many people are generous enough to offer you something or watching how people react to a possible robbery, these experiments truly show humans at their best and worst. Coby Persin is a Youtube star who focuses on pranks and social experiments and his most recent experiment is terrifying parents.
Persin teamed up with several parents in order to test whether each family's daughters would meet him. He started by making a fake Facebook profile and claimed to be 15 years old, Persin is actually 21. Using the parents' permission, he friended three girls aged 14, 13 and 12. He talked to them for about three to four days before asking to meet up. In the first case, Persin met with the girl in the park and when he approached her, her dad came out and scolded her, explaining the danger she just put herself in. Persin met the second at her house at night. When the girl opened the door, again, the dad busted her. Persin asked to pick up the last one in his brother's van. He told her his brother was driving the vehicle. The girl's parents were waiting in the backseat with ski masks on. As soon as she climbed in, all three adults grabbed her. The parents soon revealed who they were. Check out the full video below.
Youtuber JoeySalads also conducted an experiment. He went to a park with his puppy and immediately walked up to a parent. He asked the parent how many times do they tell their child not to talk to strangers. With the parent's permission, he approached the kid and talked in a very kind manner to them. The kid pet the puppy and talked to him with no problem. In every case, he claimed to have more puppies and asked them if they wanted to see them. The child in every case said yes and took his hand and walked away. The parents were mortified. Check out the full video below.
There is clearly an issue in society of explaining to kids the real danger of strangers. Whether through the Internet or in everyday life, we need to find a way to tell children, in a way they will understand, how to avoid predators. Unfortunately, the danger is not always a stranger. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 12% of abductions are by other family members, including ex-spouses.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, nearly 800,000 children are reported missing every year -- over 2,000 a day! With numbers these high, is anybody doing anything? In short, yes. The National Center for Missing and Exploited children over the last 31 years has circulated billions of photos, assisted in the recovery of over 211,000 children and has facilitated training for more than 314,000 law enforcement, criminal/juvenile justices and healthcare professionals.
What can you do? The only way to stop these acts is by acting out. If you see suspicious activity, confront it! Children can only protect themselves to a certain point because abductors are stronger and faster than their target. Children are a joy to parents -- do not let predators steal the joy of a family. Act out and be strong!
