It’s late night after school, and the latest update for a popular video game has just dropped. An elated child logs in to try it out but is confused by all the new features. No matter what they do, they can’t seem to get the game right and there appears a person to save the child from the issue.
A complete stranger who offers help.
“Don’t worry,” the stranger says. “It’s a bit confusing, but I can show you what to do.”
The child is excited. Finally, someone is helping them play the game well. Grateful, they follow the stranger’s instructions and start playing properly.
The stranger says he knows more tricks in the game and would help the child get better even more and asks if they can be friends in the game. Slowly, they play together every day, the conversation moves from games to social media, the topic changes from the game to a bit more personal.
The child begins to trust this new friend completely. They start sharing pictures and doing things the stranger asks, thinking it’s all part of the fun.
The wolf in sheep's clothing reveals itself - a predator stalking its prey, slowly and steadily until they are ready to strike.
The digital playground is no longer safe.
For children, the internet is a world of endless fascination. It is a place to explore, learn, play, and connect with friends all from the comfort of home.
Games, videos, social media apps - all of them make the digital world exciting, almost magical, offering instant access to information and entertainment that was unimaginable just a generation ago.
But this digital playground, as magical as it is, also comes with hidden dangers. Just as in the real world, not everyone online has good intentions.
Online child predation is one of the gravest dangers of the digital age - and it often begins where children feel the most safe.
Predators no longer wait in dark alleys; they enter homes through phones, tablets, and computers. They pretend to be peers, gain trust through shared interests, and slowly manipulate children into sharing personal information or images.
This process, known as online grooming, is gradual and calculated - built on flattery, attention, and secrecy.
Many parents assume their child would “know better”, but online grooming is a very real danger. It can begin with a simple compliment, a meme, or an offer to help in a game. What comes after is slowly breaking boundaries, where the child starts trusting the wrong person.
In today’s digital world, as children spend more time on online platforms, the risk of child sexual abuse and exploitation has become a growing concern for their safety and well-being.
The goal of a predator is to trick and manipulate a child into thinking that this person cares more about the child, more than their parents or family members.
More often than not, these predators make use of fake, fictional personas to earn the trust of the child. Slowly but steadily, they manipulate and groom the child into trusting this fake persona, misplacing the trust that they had earlier with the child’s family and friends.
Predators treat the way they find and manipulate the child as a hunt, one filled with patience and striking at the right moment. They work slowly to get past the boundaries the child initially sets up, gain their trust and receive personal information, more often than not sensitive and sexual.
Grooming can take many forms: from flattery and imitation to emotional manipulation and bribery. Predators carefully learn about the needs and vulnerabilities of a child and offer attention, empathy, or gifts to create a false sense of trust and friendship.
More often than not, the target of these predators are children who feel emotionally isolated or is lonely who often turn to the internet for comfort and connection.
Children aged between 12 and 15 are particularly vulnerable to grooming or manipulation by adults they come across on the internet.
In the US, more than a quarter of reported cases of online exploitation involve predators asking children to share sexually explicit images of themselves.
According to NCRB data, a total of 1,823 cases of cybercrimes against children were reported in 2022 in India - a sharp increase from 1,376 cases in the previous year.
This shows the alarming growth of such offences in India. Reports of cybercrimes against children have grown significantly between 2017 and 2022. In 2017, only seven cases were recorded; however, by 2022, that number had surged to 1,823.
While this may also be a result of parents or other adults are noticing and reporting suspicious activity, nonetheless it remains a concerning trend
But how do you find if someone is being groomed online?.
Online grooming can be hard to detect, as it often happens while a child is simply using a computer at home. Groomers often tell the children not to disclose their interactions. However, there are warning signs that a child may be targeted.
If a child is spending more time online than usual, being secretive about their online activities, quickly switching screens or closing windows when a parent approaches, using sexual language beyond their age or experience, and showing sudden emotional changes or volatility, these are all signs that a child is being targeted in today’s digital sphere.
In the digital age, the internet offers children endless opportunities to learn, play, and interact with each other but it also exposes them to hidden dangers.
Online grooming and exploitation are real threats that can happen even under the careful eyes of parents or other adults.
Awareness, open communication, and proactive safety measures are important to protect children. By educating children about the risks, monitoring their online activities, and building trust, adults can help the child from falling in trap to a predator.
