Shocking statistics have revealed that sexting occurs most among children in the 10 to 13 age group and that there was an increase in six to 10 year olds creating child pornography.

These statistics were revealed in a report following a survey by the National Centre for Child Protection (NCCP), which found that children were interacting with strangers while playing online games, and were dating people they met online, but had never met in real life.

“From what children tell us at schools about online dating, more than 35% of children are dating someone they met online and have never met in real life. There is a 95% probability that the person they are dating used and is using a fake profile. Children as young as 12 are accessing dating apps, often bypassing age restrictions with ease,” said Dayna Rowland from the NCCP.

“The survey indicated that children enjoyed receiving compliments from strangers. Predators used fake images and profiles to interact with children. We found that Roblox is one of the most popular online gaming platforms. On Roblox children are exposed to online predators and paedophiles. The game has been branded as a paedophile hellscape for children. Our survey indicated that 3.2 million children under the age of 10 play online games.

“Fortnite is currently the most popular game in South Africa. Children speak to strangers and move conversations to messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and this being the most popular. Other popular games where children interact with strangers include Minecraft, Call of Duty and Rocket League,” added Rowland.

The report further indicated that popular dating apps children use are Tinder, OnlyFans, Wink, CrushZone, Bae, Bumble, Teens Town, MyLol, Hot or Not, OKCupid.

“These apps were popular among children from 13 years of age. OnlyFans is failing to prevent underage users from selling and appearing in explicit videos. Children are gaining access to the site and engaging in the sale of explicit content, this poses serious risks to their safety and well-being.”

She said there were roughly 21 million children in South Africa, and children made up more than 26% of all social media users.

“Ninety-six percent of children have access to the internet. WhatsApp usage is over 95%. WhatsApp channels are used to rate children with the victim not knowing their photos are being used. Snapchat usage is over 73%. Fifthy-three percent of children have received calls from strangers on Snapchat. TikTok usage is over 77%. Instagram usage is over 81%. Schools put pressure on their learners to install Instagram and encourage them to like their profiles on social media.

“YouTube usage is over 80%. X usage is over 55%. Pornography is freely available on X. Facebook usage is over 71%. Discord usage is 28%. Strangers, including paedophiles, have access to our children's photos, videos, and shared thoughts. Not enough is being done to protect children online,” she added.

Research by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) in South African households called Disrupting Harm – a project focused on online child sexual exploitation and abuse - indicated that children often engaged with people they met online.

About 1 639 internet-using children aged between 9 and 17 participated in the Disrupting Harm household survey in 2022, and 52% of the children said that, during the past year, they added people who they had never met face-to-face to their friends lists on social media.

“Thirty-three percent had met someone in person whom they had first met online. According to children who engaged in these behaviours, many of these encounters did not result in immediate harm and most children described being pleased about the experience of meeting someone face-to-face they had first got to know on the internet.

“In addition, 8% of the children in the household survey said they had shared naked pictures or videos of themselves online in the past year. Most of those children said they did it for fun, because they were in love or flirting. More 16 to 17-year-olds engaged in risky online behaviours than the younger children in the survey,” the report of the survey recorded.

The survey further indicated that 9% of children said they had been offered money or gifts in return for sexual images or videos, while 9% were asked to meet in person to do something sexual.

“Seven percent said that their sexual images had been shared without their permission. In addition, 7% of the internet-using children surveyed said they had been threatened or blackmailed to engage in sexual activities. This form of sexual extortion is not explicitly criminalised in South African legislation, representing a crucial gap in the national response to online sexual exploitation and abuse. The household survey figures could be under-reported due to common discomfort around discussing sex or because children may not want to disclose their abuse,” read the report.

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