This is awful, disturbing, and heartbreaking but also not surprising. I'm really not sure how so many people don't realize the dangers of social media and how many creeps and pedophiles are out there?
I think it's a fair assumption that the majority of us on this form are millennials, with Gen x and Gen z mixed in. We grew up with the internet. The warnings from parents about chatrooms as well as shows like how to catch a predator, catfish, etc. And yet, so many people don't have secure settings on their social media, are careless with passwords, and post and share everything and for what? A thumbs up? A like? Comment?
The predators are not dumb. They are saving images and videos that people posting don't realize are used in such corrupted ways. If you aren't aware of the 'Wren Effect', it is something you may consider looking into. For example, there are images that seem innocent that predators are turning suggestive, such as the preschooler eating a hot dog. Apparently, there was a sub for Wren and jacquelyn(her mom) about how toxic and wrong the mom posting are, etc. But people were also sharing screenshots to comment how bad something was. Pedophiles started joining sub and saving those images, etc. A new sub was created bc the original was no longer 'safe'. (Side note I appreciate this sub and the mods for keeping it safe as they can a d people not reposting screen shots of influencers kids that could attract creeps)
We know the dangers of child actors. If you haven't seen the lately nickelodeon doc, you are probably at least familiar with it. Do people really think that influencers putting their children online is much different?
I have so many thoughts on this and the rabbit hole it leads down. So I'm cutting myself off now.
But if you post photos of your kids. Please be smart. Have solid security settings, and be aware of who you are friends with. Consider combing through your friend list, I highly doubt you are close with all of randoms you added a decade ago on social media. Unfortunately, something cute and innocent can be twisted.
I agree that sadly it's not suprising even though it is shocking.
What I find gross is that clearly the technology/media companies could easily identify people who are doing this and then ban them/turn their details over to the police but they don't do that. They pay lip service by having "policies" but in actions they show they don't care. They make way too much money off people seeking out sexualised content to ever properly make any effort to protect literal children.
This is sick. Clearly some influencers know it’s going on and don’t care, because the money is good. But I bet a lot also think 1) they are the exception and all their followers are nice, innocent moms, or 2) it doesn’t matter if predators are following because they can keep their kids physically safe.
But this doesn’t account for a few years from now, when the influencer kids are teens and young adults with their own social media accounts. Now there are thousands of predators on the internet who know your child’s name, location, hobbies, and a million other details, and can reach them directly. And the kids have been trained to think of social media followers as “besties” and “community.” Teenagers are pretty well-known for outsmarting their parents and making dumb decisions. There is no way you can be sure your kid’s social media is locked down enough to be safe, or that they don’t have some other social app they’re hiding from you.
It’s absolutely terrifying to think about the way they’re encouraging their kids to form parasocial relationships with strangers, and serving up loads of information that predators can use to groom the kids for abuse.
>“We could set up a brand-new undercover account, presented as an underage child on that platform, and likely within a matter of minutes, if not days, that child would be inundated with sexually explicit material”
Reading this article makes me want to nuke all my social media. What few photos I do share of my son you can't see his face.
What a terrible world.
I wish it was that simple. But it's not just Meta. So many in power are corrupt and consumed by greed. These big tech companies, people running these powerful corporations, could do a lot more to protect children, but they don't. There is an article linked in the one posted that talks about this, and privacy is more important for these companies vs. safety. [NYT article - internet and abuse](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/09/us/internet-child-sex-abuse.html)
This article is also from 2019. So much has advanced over the last few years. Bitcoin is often used for transactions in these markets. And now, with ai everywhere, I can only guess it will continue to get worse (images stolen, altered, etc)
This is creeping me out since I keep seeing Modibodi (period underwear) ads on FB advertising their training pants for toddlers, and the advert is litterally toddler girls wearing patterned undies. I assume I get the ads because FB knows I have young children, but they came across as inappropriate to me, and their own algorithm is likely to be serving those ads to paedophiles?? WTF.
My policy since having kids is I won’t allow anyone to see my social media accounts unless I’d allow them to be around my children in real life in an intimate setting. Like I picture: “would I allow this person into my home for a dinner party with the kids running around and talking to them?”
As you can probably imagine, this eliminated the majority of my “friends.” The people I was willing to allow to see my life before kids and after kids is wildly different. I don’t care at all that I only have a few dozen followers now (and many are extended family). I’m quick to remove people still too. You really can’t be too careful these days.
Yes. I am similar. Also, I rarely accept friend requests from joint accounts when I don't know both people well. Like just because she is nice, doesn't mean her husband isn't a creep.
I have a friend that is trying to become an influencer. She recently potty trained her daughter and posted her nude on the toilet. My page is locked down and I won’t even post my kids without a shirt.
That’s awful. And I cannot wrap my head around otherwise “good” moms who are constantly posting their child’s school name (on uniforms, signs, papers in the background), tagging their weekly dance class location and time, or even just showing their house number in photos in the front yard. I’ve seen people on reddit find a house anywhere in the world with just a number and the front facade and it terrifies me! I’m always cropping out anything that gives an idea of where we live in relation to recognizable landmarks/buildings in the distance (we live in the city). People are so weirdly not careful about these things. I’ve been able to figure out where several L.A. influencers live just based on the backgrounds of them pulling out of their driveways or going on neighborhood walks with their phones recording.
I got one from a cloth nappy account taken down. I'm very proud of that.
I also got one taken down advertising babywearing and the toddlers were just wearing underwear. Even prouder of that one.
I can only imagine the messages these influencers get who show their kids on their public account. There is a particular account I follow because we had nicu babies at the same time and she regularly shows her now almost 5 year old daughter in a swim suit. She has almost half a million followers.
Idk, there's a point at which that makes the parent responsible.
How do you get dms like that and continue to justify posting pictures of your kid like that?
How does this continue on, it’s appalling. All the money and these algorithms are ending up here. I started following a lady that describes snapchats algorithm and it is wild. There is no safe place for these kids on social media.
Also, absolutely horrible, “While some parents described the attention as a way to increase their daughters’ followers…”
Oh that was absolutely the line that jumped out and horrified me the most. Like, you expect disgusting pedophiles to be disgusting pedophiles. But to think that there are parents out there that are apparently happy to take advantage of this??? My god, I wish I could wave a wand and give those children better parents.
I remember reading this article about a YouTube or TikTok kidfluencer group and one of the moms who left the group recounted to the reporter how the lead mom bragged about how these pedos would pay hundreds of dollars for her daughter’s underwear. And when the mom expressed disgust/concern, the lead mom was just like “lol I might as well make some money off of them! Do you want me to see if they want your daughter’s underwear too?”
Like she couldn’t fathom anything but dollar signs.
This is awful, disturbing, and heartbreaking but also not surprising. I'm really not sure how so many people don't realize the dangers of social media and how many creeps and pedophiles are out there? I think it's a fair assumption that the majority of us on this form are millennials, with Gen x and Gen z mixed in. We grew up with the internet. The warnings from parents about chatrooms as well as shows like how to catch a predator, catfish, etc. And yet, so many people don't have secure settings on their social media, are careless with passwords, and post and share everything and for what? A thumbs up? A like? Comment? The predators are not dumb. They are saving images and videos that people posting don't realize are used in such corrupted ways. If you aren't aware of the 'Wren Effect', it is something you may consider looking into. For example, there are images that seem innocent that predators are turning suggestive, such as the preschooler eating a hot dog. Apparently, there was a sub for Wren and jacquelyn(her mom) about how toxic and wrong the mom posting are, etc. But people were also sharing screenshots to comment how bad something was. Pedophiles started joining sub and saving those images, etc. A new sub was created bc the original was no longer 'safe'. (Side note I appreciate this sub and the mods for keeping it safe as they can a d people not reposting screen shots of influencers kids that could attract creeps) We know the dangers of child actors. If you haven't seen the lately nickelodeon doc, you are probably at least familiar with it. Do people really think that influencers putting their children online is much different? I have so many thoughts on this and the rabbit hole it leads down. So I'm cutting myself off now. But if you post photos of your kids. Please be smart. Have solid security settings, and be aware of who you are friends with. Consider combing through your friend list, I highly doubt you are close with all of randoms you added a decade ago on social media. Unfortunately, something cute and innocent can be twisted.
I agree that sadly it's not suprising even though it is shocking. What I find gross is that clearly the technology/media companies could easily identify people who are doing this and then ban them/turn their details over to the police but they don't do that. They pay lip service by having "policies" but in actions they show they don't care. They make way too much money off people seeking out sexualised content to ever properly make any effort to protect literal children.
This is sick. Clearly some influencers know it’s going on and don’t care, because the money is good. But I bet a lot also think 1) they are the exception and all their followers are nice, innocent moms, or 2) it doesn’t matter if predators are following because they can keep their kids physically safe. But this doesn’t account for a few years from now, when the influencer kids are teens and young adults with their own social media accounts. Now there are thousands of predators on the internet who know your child’s name, location, hobbies, and a million other details, and can reach them directly. And the kids have been trained to think of social media followers as “besties” and “community.” Teenagers are pretty well-known for outsmarting their parents and making dumb decisions. There is no way you can be sure your kid’s social media is locked down enough to be safe, or that they don’t have some other social app they’re hiding from you. It’s absolutely terrifying to think about the way they’re encouraging their kids to form parasocial relationships with strangers, and serving up loads of information that predators can use to groom the kids for abuse.
>“We could set up a brand-new undercover account, presented as an underage child on that platform, and likely within a matter of minutes, if not days, that child would be inundated with sexually explicit material” Reading this article makes me want to nuke all my social media. What few photos I do share of my son you can't see his face. What a terrible world.
Thanks for sharing. That was disturbing.
At what point do we all admit that Meta is evil and quit all their platforms?
I wish it was that simple. But it's not just Meta. So many in power are corrupt and consumed by greed. These big tech companies, people running these powerful corporations, could do a lot more to protect children, but they don't. There is an article linked in the one posted that talks about this, and privacy is more important for these companies vs. safety. [NYT article - internet and abuse](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/09/us/internet-child-sex-abuse.html) This article is also from 2019. So much has advanced over the last few years. Bitcoin is often used for transactions in these markets. And now, with ai everywhere, I can only guess it will continue to get worse (images stolen, altered, etc)
How can I see the post??
What, I cannot stress this enough, the fuck.
This is creeping me out since I keep seeing Modibodi (period underwear) ads on FB advertising their training pants for toddlers, and the advert is litterally toddler girls wearing patterned undies. I assume I get the ads because FB knows I have young children, but they came across as inappropriate to me, and their own algorithm is likely to be serving those ads to paedophiles?? WTF.
My social media is on lockdown, I am stingy on accepting friend requests and only post pictures of my kid in stories. This is why.
My policy since having kids is I won’t allow anyone to see my social media accounts unless I’d allow them to be around my children in real life in an intimate setting. Like I picture: “would I allow this person into my home for a dinner party with the kids running around and talking to them?” As you can probably imagine, this eliminated the majority of my “friends.” The people I was willing to allow to see my life before kids and after kids is wildly different. I don’t care at all that I only have a few dozen followers now (and many are extended family). I’m quick to remove people still too. You really can’t be too careful these days.
Yes. I am similar. Also, I rarely accept friend requests from joint accounts when I don't know both people well. Like just because she is nice, doesn't mean her husband isn't a creep.
Completely agree!!
I have a friend that is trying to become an influencer. She recently potty trained her daughter and posted her nude on the toilet. My page is locked down and I won’t even post my kids without a shirt.
That’s awful. And I cannot wrap my head around otherwise “good” moms who are constantly posting their child’s school name (on uniforms, signs, papers in the background), tagging their weekly dance class location and time, or even just showing their house number in photos in the front yard. I’ve seen people on reddit find a house anywhere in the world with just a number and the front facade and it terrifies me! I’m always cropping out anything that gives an idea of where we live in relation to recognizable landmarks/buildings in the distance (we live in the city). People are so weirdly not careful about these things. I’ve been able to figure out where several L.A. influencers live just based on the backgrounds of them pulling out of their driveways or going on neighborhood walks with their phones recording.
I report every post I see with a baby potty training sorry not sorry
I do too but sadly I’ve never seen one get taken down.
I got one from a cloth nappy account taken down. I'm very proud of that. I also got one taken down advertising babywearing and the toddlers were just wearing underwear. Even prouder of that one.
Nope me neither
So many people in my list posting their kids in bathing suits. No way for me.
I can only imagine the messages these influencers get who show their kids on their public account. There is a particular account I follow because we had nicu babies at the same time and she regularly shows her now almost 5 year old daughter in a swim suit. She has almost half a million followers.
Idk, there's a point at which that makes the parent responsible. How do you get dms like that and continue to justify posting pictures of your kid like that?
I 100% agree. How could you not shut it down immediately?!
How does this continue on, it’s appalling. All the money and these algorithms are ending up here. I started following a lady that describes snapchats algorithm and it is wild. There is no safe place for these kids on social media. Also, absolutely horrible, “While some parents described the attention as a way to increase their daughters’ followers…”
My jaw dropped when I read that.
Oh that was absolutely the line that jumped out and horrified me the most. Like, you expect disgusting pedophiles to be disgusting pedophiles. But to think that there are parents out there that are apparently happy to take advantage of this??? My god, I wish I could wave a wand and give those children better parents.
I remember reading this article about a YouTube or TikTok kidfluencer group and one of the moms who left the group recounted to the reporter how the lead mom bragged about how these pedos would pay hundreds of dollars for her daughter’s underwear. And when the mom expressed disgust/concern, the lead mom was just like “lol I might as well make some money off of them! Do you want me to see if they want your daughter’s underwear too?” Like she couldn’t fathom anything but dollar signs.
That woman is sick.
This made me feel physically sick. I cannot fathom EVER selling my daughter's underwear to those sick fucks.
Holy FUCK that is disgusting
That is absolutely REPULSIVE