Exploited - Why Character Matters

Over the many years that Million Kids has worked with families and kids who have been victimized through online sexual exploitation or have become victims of sextortion or sex trafficking we have observed many indicators in behavior that made a person more likely to be a victim of exploitation or not. The one key insulator that seems to protect naïve and perhaps risk-taking young people is character. Video games and live streaming often contain interactive and extreme pornography. Kids will tell you that sex on the internet is not really sex and killing is not really killing. But many video games use sex as a weapon, sex without consequences, sex as a score, sex used as domination and exploitation. Many apps now connect our kids to millions of people they will never meet and they now can text directly to your child. A percentage of them are pedophiles. Some look like friends, some look like someone you might hook up with. How do we teach young people to discern between empowering relationships and exploitative relationships with thousands of people they have not met. The key is talking about “character” with your child. Get your child to write down their “core values”. What do they believe is right. What traits do they admire in themselves and others. What traits do they not like. Talk about pedophilia and why people want to become friends or ask for photos. Talk about digital morality.