Debuting in November 2021, Undercover Underage is a documentary series that follows an undercover mission designed to protect innocent girls from the horrors of sex crimes. Child advocates Roo Powell and her team— from her organization Safe From Online Sex Abuse—or SOSA for short, work in conjunction with law enforcement to identify predators who are using the internet to access underage, vulnerable children for sex acts through undercover missions. 

The Internet Has a Darkside

While the popularity of the internet has increased expediently and broadened out into various social media platforms, the good this has brought society has unfortunately come along with some horrific misuse, which is highlighted in this series. When it comes to the internet, and social media platforms, predators are gaining access to kids even when they are in the perceived safety of their own homes or at school. Unfortunately, this means as a parent, you have to go beyond having the stranger danger discussion or sharing what to be cautious of out in public (though those are still valid points). Now, that conversation also has to include a talk about their online presence and social circles that take place virtually. 

What Can Parents Do?

In many cases, the best course of action a parent can take to keep their child safe from online predators or criminals who are using social media to coerce a child to run away is to talk to them about the dangers that exist. While they might not understand why their online activity and/or safety or privacy is a big deal, you need to make them aware of just how dangerous giving someone too much access to you, even online can become. 

What the Stats Say

Share these astounding statistics or at least learn them yourself, so you know how dangerous your child’s online environment can become:

• Some 80% of child sex crimes start on social media. 

• The most often targeted age group for online predators is kids aged 12 to 15. 

• Only 15% of all parents know what their children are doing online. 

At Saved in America, due to our efforts in the human trafficking industry where we work with families and law enforcement to bring runaways home or to rescue kids from sex trafficking rings, we understand how dangerous unsupervised online activity is for today’s youth. Talk to your kids today about this before it’s too late.