Has lockdown put YOUR CHILD AT RISK?

Figures show under-16s are sharing more explicit messages and photos than before – but who are they sending them to? Woman investigates

- FIONA KINLOCH, TANITH CAREY, SARAH CASTRO

Discovering your child has been targeted by an online predator is terrifying. So when Davina McCall, 52, found out daughter Tilly, 16, had been sent explicit photos moments after using chat site Omegle, she decided to speak out.

On its landing page, Omegle even admits: ‘Predators have been known to use Omegle, so please be careful.’

But, dubbing it ‘the most dangerous site I have ever seen’, Davina issued a warning to parents. ‘Tilly showed it to me,’ she explained. ‘I sat down off-camera, she was on camera – out of five people that she had, bearing in mind it’s 10 o’clock in the morning, two of them were pictures of men’s groins.’

The pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on internet usage. And, with school out, and more time in front of their screens, children are at more risk than ever.

Since January 2020, online traffic has increased by 25% – the fastest surge since the birth of the internet. While the web has presented a lifeline for children to stay in touch with friends and learn remotely during school closures, it has also led to increased risks of grooming, exploitation and exposure to explicit content.

Alarming figures

Figures released by British tech company SafeToNet found explicit messages sent by children under 16 had risen by 182%.

While some of this will be teenagers sexting each other, these alarming statistics prove that the tactics used by predators to manipulate children are working. Woman investigates how the pandemic has put children in danger.

‘CHILDREN CAN BE AFFECTED FOR A LIFETIME’