Shillong, June 26: A recent study has revealed that nearly two-thirds of teenagers have been targeted by sextortion schemes on various social media apps.
Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, reports that young men are primarily targeted for money, while girls are targeted for explicit images and photos on platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook, as per Fox Business.
According to Arda Gerkens, president of Offlimits (formerly known as EOKM), a Dutch child abuse hotline, young males who experience sextortion incidents often feel relieved after sharing the situation with their parents. The advice given is to report to hotlines, helplines, and platforms, as well as to inform parents, friends, or trusted adults.
The survey, which involved 760 teens in the US, found that approximately 65% of teens on Snapchat and other apps, either themselves or their friends, were victims of sextortion. This involved being “catfished” (tricked into communicating with someone who lies about their identity online) or being hacked for private information, including explicit photos, that were later used against them.
Of the respondents, around 51% reported falling victim to catfishing, while 47% said they were hacked. Furthermore, almost one-third of the targeted teens shared explicit or private images. When threatened online, approximately 56% turned to friends, parents, or trusted adults, and 50% reported the incident to the platform they were using. Additionally, 40% blocked the perpetrator.
