GROOMED ON SNAPCHAT

Ban social media for under-16s

- WORDS: ANNA MATHESON

Nakeesha Needham was 15 when she was attacked by a man who befriended her on social media

Scrolling through TikTok, I sigh whenever I see a video of a young girl chatting to the camera about their day. They're just having a bit of fun trying to be influencers, but I know from experience that there's a murky underworld to social media, and predators are always on the prowl. I myself was just 14 when I was first contacted by a paedophile online.

Before my parents split up in spring 2019, I was like any other girl who loved makeup and hanging out with friends. But after they divorced, I retreated into myself, spending more and more time on Snapchat and TikTok. Everyone I knew was on social media, and my parents just thought it was normal teenage behaviour.

OLDER FRIEND

Then in June 2019, the month before my 15th birthday, I had a Snapchat friend request from someone I didn't recognise. Snapchat had a Quick Add function where you could send requests to people in your area or who had mutual contacts with you. Christopher lived five minutes from me in Dorset and worked in a local supermarket. I was honest about my age and he told me he was 27. 'You look more like 18,' he joked. It all seemed friendly, and we began messaging daily. I even found myself telling Christopher things I felt too awkward speaking to my mum Joanne or my friends about, like how I felt sad about my parents splitting up and was jealous of friends from happy homes. Christopher knew all the right things to say to comfort me and I told no one about him. His messages became more flirty and once he even begged me for a naked photo. I refused, but agreed to meet him.