Sandra
RebeccaChildren use TikTok for fun, but there are more and more warnings about its dangers.
Children naturally try challenges they see in their everyday lives.
Some dares can be very dangerous, for example: standing on train tracks just until the train arrives. Others may seem funny, but are in fact violent, even sexual. Both have already happened in Slovenia.
A popular fifteen-year-old TikToker Ava Majury from the United States has felt the dark side of TikTok.
One of her followers became obsessed with her – to the point of buying personal information from her classmates, including her address.
The obsession didn’t end there – he started threatening her.
His threats were not taken seriously at first because he lived several hundred kilometers away.
But one day he appeared at her front door and started shooting. Ava’s father, a former police officer, then shot him dead.
Ava is still keeping up appearances on TikTok because she earns an income from it. She also explains that she doesn’t think it’s right that she should hide. Sadly, she has since been harassed by new stalkers.
She is now facing other stalkers in court, where she is demanding a stalking ban.
Roblox also hides many traps
Stalkers aren’t the only danger that threatens children online.
In Roblox, where players create their own games and play them with friends, even children under the age of 13 can encounter inappropriate content related to, say, sexuality.
Inappropriate contact between children and adults can happen in chat rooms.
Ava’s story shows that the virtual world is not far from being in-person.
Unfortunately, there are stories from Slovene kids as well that show Internet dangers lurking into everyday life.
Points to Consider
- What can you do to improve your online security?
- Why are you not allowed to share personal information?
- Who can you turn to if Internet dangers find you?
For parents and teachers
How to talk about dangers online
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The original version of this article was published on 17th March, 2022.
Mateja
Urša
