Communication is key tool for fighting online dangers

by Dan Holland

Representatives of the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, working through the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, presented “Social Media and Tech Night” at Independence High School on Nov. 21. The program, which addresses social media challenges and helps to identify and prevent potential online predator situations, was presented to students in grades 7-12 earlier that same day.

The program was presented in collaboration with the Ohio ICAC, Independence Local Schools and the city’s INDYAlive program.

Speakers included Caroline Wathey, criminal analyst for Ohio ICAC and Emily Fagan-Zirm, public information and outreach coordinator for Ohio ICAC. 

Fagan-Zirm began the presentation by explaining how although “stranger danger” has always been emphasized among school-age children, those circumstances, in many instances, have been superseded by online dangers.

“When the task force was created at the end of the 1990s, more children and teens began using the internet, and that risk then moved behind the computer screen or phone,” Fagan-Zirm explained. 

Topics included cyberbullying, sexting/sextortion, blackmail, red flags, online enticement, solicitations and grooming.

Above all, the presenters emphasized the need for parents to monitor their children’s social media and electronic activities and to establish boundaries. Engaging in ongoing conversations on the matter is key.

“This is invaluable in just getting any kind of message out to the kids on what’s going on and what we’re seeing,” Wathey said. “If we can even just reach one person; if there’s one student that has been a victim of sextortion or cyberbullying, now they know that they can stand up for themselves. They can go tell someone, and they don’t have to go through it alone. That’s the last thing we want them to think, that they’re alone in this, because they’re not. There’s always someone who can come and help them.”

Minors who suspect they have been targeted by an online predator are encouraged to report the incident to a trusted adult. Suspected incidences of child sexual exploitation should be reported to CyberTipline.org, managed by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

Wathey noted that cyber tips have increased in Ohio from 2,234 reported instances in 2013 to 21,564 in 2023. Reported instances of online enticements have increased by 300% just since 2021, she added.

“We know you are a victim,” said Wathey. “These sex offenders that are out there talking with kids in these chats – the kids have no way on their own of getting out. It’s just a vicious circle.”

“It’s just a matter of having those conversations with your kids. They’re hard and awkward at first, but you need to have them during car rides when you can ask those questions about what’s going on in school and what they’re doing,” Independence Middle School Principal Jamie Vanek said. “This is a conversation that should be ongoing all the time, and this is where the partnership is truly important and crucial.” 

Vanek added that the district partners with the city and INDYAlive group to raise awareness.“It really takes the whole community to raise a child now,” he said. “Especially with being a dad, I see what these kids go through on a daily basis and I try to carry that into the school.” 

photo caption: Caroline Wathey, criminal analyst for the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, explains online enticement. Photo by D. Holland.