In recognition of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, The Farmersville Times pointed out the dangers of children using the Internet unsupervised.
The article highlighted the fact that most teens and many children use the Internet daily. This is a huge difference from only a decade ago when the majority of Internet users were adults.
Pew Research conducted a study in 2018 that shows 45% of all teens say they are on the internet constantly. If unsupervised, this opens the door to online predators, hackers, and companies that sell user data to third party companies.
While many social media sites have safeguards that separate teens from adult users, this isn't 100% safe. The social media site can only go by how old the user claims to be.
Many child trafficking cases also start or are carried out online, according to the Huffington Post.
There are apps that enable a parent or guardian to monitor their child's online activities.