Cybergrooming

Digital media can open up opportunities for children and be fun. Unfortunately, there are also dangers lurking on the internet that children and parents should be aware of. One such danger is cybergrooming. This refers to the targeted approach by adults with the aim of involving children in sexualized conversations or abusing them for such acts. How can you best protect your child and what do you need to bear in mind? The ZEBRA team at the NRW Media Authority answers these and other questions.

Cybergrooming can take place anywhere where children can come into unprotected contact with strangers. These can be social networks such as Instagram or TikTok, for example. If they are asked for their cell phone number, they quickly switch to messengers such as WhatsApp or Telegram. Video games in which you can write or talk to your fellow players (e.g. Minecraft, Roblox or FIFA) are also used by cybergroomers to make contact.

16% of children and young people have already met adults online who wanted to date them.

On average, 11% of children and young people have met an adult online who has sent them nude photos.

The cybergrooming cases or attempts via social media are spread across various platforms. Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok are all (in descending order) between 13% and 9%.

You can read about this and much more in the Cybergrooming Study by the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia.

When people write to children using other people's profiles, caution is always advised. You can never be sure who is actually behind a user name or profile picture. Offenders are usually very interested in personal details about the child, but at the same time tend to reveal little about themselves and evade questions. They often pretend to have similar hobbies and other things in common and compliment the child to create a basis of trust.

Some cybergroomers also pretend to be peers, photographers or model or talent scouts and want to quickly switch from a public chat to a private messenger. There, their demands become greater and sexual topics are increasingly alluded to. In addition, they usually demand pictures that show the child in a provocative pose or (partially) undressed. These images can also be used as leverage afterwards if cybergroomers threaten to publish them or send them to family and friends. In extreme cases, there may even be demands for money or a meeting in real life.

It is important to address the topic of cybergrooming in an age-appropriate way. For younger children, you should above all set clear rules for contact with strangers and set up digital services so that strangers cannot write to the child. If this does happen, the chat should be terminated and the profile blocked.

In addition, cybergrooming should not just be discussed once. Discussions about the child's safety in the digital space and their concerns should take place regularly, preferably with advance notice and in a trusting setting.

As a parent, you can take various measures against cybergrooming. These range from educating the child at an early stage to technical youth media protection and the correct behavior should a cybergrooming attempt occur.