Inappropriate Content – Part A
Whilst technology can be a powerful and positive tool, it also brings with it the potential to carry out harmful actions, including peer-to-peer online harassment.
The experience and impact of such harassment is unique to each and every individual and can have long-term impacts on mental health and wellbeing. This is an issue that needs cohesive, collective and collaborative action.
Through this BeSmartOnline project, we are offering an opportunity, not only to our children but to society at whole, to reflect on the safer and more responsible use of online technology.
The Series
- Cyberbullying
- Watching: Inappropriate Material – Part A
- Inappropriate Material – Part B
- Fake Reality – What’s Real on Social Media
- The Bright Side – Positive Effects of Social Media
- Coming Soon: Sexual Harassment – Ira Losco’s Story
Transcript (English)
A photo or a video lasts forever.
Behind a screen, it doesn’t matter if it looks like a 16 year old girl, you have no idea who is controlling a profile.
They make you do things you know are wrong, you know you should not do them, but you do it anyway and then afterwards you realise that it was a mistake.
I have a 13 year old daughter and one time she had a problem with her homework. She got distracted from her computer so I decided to check on her assignment. While I was going through it a chat window popped up “Hi babe how are you?” I went through it and the first thing that caught my eye, I’m embarrassed to say, was a photo of my daughter, naked on the bed, an indecent pose. “How I wish to touch you, let’s do this and that, let me pick you up”. She is my daughter, young, innocent, now suddenly she is in this position and situation.
I’m burning up. I’m going to have a girl. I don’t know what to say.
You will find these people everywhere and unfortunately they will always be predators on people that they can easily manipulate.
There are no words you can say because this is a 13 year old child.
I’m trying to remember when I was that age and if I had this approach from men and the truth is I did.
We are like every other country, we have nothing special, these things happen in Malta.
This boy was around 20 years old. We spoke to some people and were told to speak to the agency BeSmartOnline and they investigated. It turns out that he was not a young man at all, he was my work colleague. A man my age.
Erm
You don’t want to believe that these things happen but you have to because this is a real case.
A clear example of how you should never trust anyone behind a computer, behind a mobile phone.
I have had someone who tried to get in my head and he almost managed. I don’t know what hit me and I said that this is not something that should be happening. You have to stop, escape and run.
My son has a disability. One time this teenage girl started talking to him and she asked him to start sending photos of himself without clothes. He didn’t send anything but when I went on the chat, I didn’t like what I saw from her photos.
I can understand the mum’s sadness, because I think whatever circumstance in life, you would never want anyone to make fun or use your child, let alone when they are vulnerable.
They take advantage of this situation, because they see a gateway where they think that this person will not understand the repercussions of what might happen when sending these suggestive photos.
I cannot blame any of these parents, because it seems they were all informed, they all love them, they are all obviously doing their best because every parent does their best for their children. But unfortunately, these children got bitten. In reality no matter how hard you try to protect them, you have to be direct, but these things happen.
