{"id":247,"date":"2026-05-08T06:07:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:07:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/kids-are-being-sexually-assaulted-by-people-they-meet-on-social-media-heres-how-to-prevent-it\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T06:07:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:07:58","slug":"kids-are-being-sexually-assaulted-by-people-they-meet-on-social-media-heres-how-to-prevent-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/08\/kids-are-being-sexually-assaulted-by-people-they-meet-on-social-media-heres-how-to-prevent-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids are being sexually assaulted by people they meet on social media. Here\u2019s how to prevent it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note:<\/em> <\/strong>Kara Alaimo is an associate professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her book \u201c<\/em>Over the Influence:<\/em> Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls \u2014 And How We Can Take It Back\u201d was recently published by Alcove Press. Follow her on Instagram, Facebook and X.<\/em><\/p>\n

Most parents probably wouldn\u2019t let their kids go to bars and nightclubs where they could meet adults who might harm them. But many parents do let them use social media, where some children are connecting with predators who go on to sexually assault them, say researchers <\/strong>slated to speak <\/strong>about these findings Sunday at the 2024 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition in Orlando. <\/p>\n

The new study, to be presented <\/strong>at the conference, found that about 7% of children ages 10 through 18 who were treated for sexual assault at a California hospital between 2018 and 2023 said that social media had facilitated their communication with their perpetrator. When the researchers looked only at cases of sexual assault by perpetrators who weren\u2019t related to their victims, the number was even higher: Twelve percent of the children said their communications with their perpetrator led to their sexual assault. <\/p>\n

The average age of the victims in the study was 13, and 89% of them were female, while about 80% of the perpetrators were adult men. <\/p>\n

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Related article<\/span> What is \u2018sharenting\u2019? How parents could be harming their kids on social media<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Lead study author Dr. Shalon Nienow said follow-up research that she is conducting with more recent data suggests the percentage of sexual assaults of children by acquaintances tied to social media apps is now significantly greater. <\/p>\n

\u201cSocial media is a ubiquitous form of communication for children and adolescents that can breed a false sense of security and \u2018friendship\u2019 with those that they meet online,\u201d said Nienow, medical director of the Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children\u2019s Hospital-San Diego. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is our experience that in cases of acquaintance sexual assault, social media plays a significant role in facilitating communication and connection between victims and their perpetrators.\u201d <\/p>\n

Talking to kids about online safety and consent<\/h3>\n

The threat from social media has changed the ways parents need to protect their kids. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past, knowing where your children were was usually enough, but now sexual harassment and predation can happen in our homes without parents knowing it,\u201d said Anna Akerman, an associate professor in the department of communications at Adelphi University in New York, who studies the impact of media on children. \u201cSexually victimized adolescents are often reluctant to share their experiences due to feelings of guilt, fear and shame.\u201d She was not involved in the new study. <\/p>\n

Such feelings are why it\u2019s important for parents to talk about these risks with their children. Parents need to explain to their kids how predators could contact them online, why they should get a parent\u2019s permission before meeting up offline with someone they first connect with online, and why they should say no if they are asked to do something that makes them uncomfortable. <\/p>\n

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Related article<\/span> 5 strategies for families to ensure children are safe online, according to a new White House report<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cEarly and open communication regarding body autonomy, safety and consent issues is imperative to creating a sense of mutual trust and understanding between parents and children and to empower children to discuss any concerns that may arise,\u201d said Nienow, who is also an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego. <\/p>\n

Keeping tabs of accounts kids are messaging<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s also important to keep track of whom your children are talking to on social networks. \u201cMany parents presume that this is a violation of their child\u2019s privacy,\u201d Nienow said. \u201cHowever, use of phones and social media is a privilege that comes with responsibility.\u201d <\/p>\n

This month, Instagram launched new safety features that allow parents to see what accounts their children recently messaged. These safeguards are a promising way for parents to keep tabs on whom kids are in contact with without reading the content of their messages. <\/p>\n

Instagram\u2019s new settings for users younger than age 18 allow them only to receive messages from people with whom they\u2019re already connected. However, 16- to 17-year-olds have the option to change their settings, so it\u2019s important for parents to ensure that they don\u2019t do so and that children have accurately reported their ages so that their accounts are marked as teen accounts. <\/p>\n

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Related article<\/span> Parents \u2018should be seen and not heard\u2019 when it comes to kids and their friendships<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Teaching kids about appropriate content<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s also important for parents to pay attention to the content their kids are posting on social media, Akerman said. <\/p>\n

\u201cResearch suggests that teens often inadvertently put themselves at risk by posting images and\/or words that could be interpreted as provocative,\u201d she said. \u201cUnfortunately, they are often unaware of the implications of their communications given their naivete, still developing judgment skills and more limited personal experiences when compared to adults.\u201d <\/p>\n

One way that teenagers may endanger themselves is by posting sexualized images of themselves. In my research, I found that girls often try to make themselves look \u201chot\u201d for pictures because they find it\u2019s one of the easiest ways to rack up likes on social platforms. It\u2019s therefore important to talk to children about how posting such images could make them targeted by predators. Parents should also follow what their kids post. <\/p>\n

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Related article<\/span> When parents are on their phones a lot, here\u2019s what happens to their kids<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Of course, children often find ways to get around their parents\u2019 rules and safeguards. One girl I interviewed for my book told me her mom didn\u2019t allow her to post pictures of herself in a bikini. Her mom followed her on Instagram to make sure she followed the rule. So, when she was 14 years old, she instead shared her bikini pictures on a different platform. Then she realized that the photos had been reposted on another social media platform \u2014 on an account she said seemed to be used for trafficking girls. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was scared they could find me and take me,\u201d the girl said. <\/p>\n

Thankfully, she went to her mom for help. But, as I\u2019ve warned before, many kids are afraid to approach their parents when they get into scary situations because they are worried about having their phones taken away. That\u2019s why the most important thing parents can tell their children is that, even if they mess up, they can still turn to them for help. <\/p>\n

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Related video<\/span> Here\u2019s when a social psychologist recommends letting your child use smartphones and social media<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The ability for sexual predators to connect with kids on social media poses a serious danger. <\/p>\n

But, as Akerman said, there are commonsense ways parents can teach their children how to protect themselves and keep on top of what they are doing on social networks. <\/p>\n

\u201cTo the extent that we can monitor what teens do on these platforms and create healthy, open dialogues about their risks we can certainly mitigate this very real, and constantly evolving, risk,\u201d Akerman said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n

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Editor\u2019s note: Kara Alaimo is an associate professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her book \u201cOver the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls \u2014 And How We Can…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":248,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftandletgo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}