[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Quantum Boy

I mean it is a bit of both - I agree that in an ideal world all parents would be good/engaged/active parents and at least aware of something like this being a risk, but also, it edges a little close to "victim blaming" to focus too much on that, and not the fact that there are adult men on apps/online knowingly preying on teenagers - and that those people are the problem.

It's not a new problem of course or a gendered one - I remember what AOL/Yahoo chatrooms were like back when I was first using the internet as an teen in the the 90's and early 2000's. "Teen Chat" was absolutely FULL of adult blokes trying to groom kids. Absolutely lawless. People used to treat it like a game - "Bait a paedo" - basically getting them to say gross stuff/admit their age in private chats then posting the transcript to the main chatroom. Hilarious at the time - in hindsight obviously really grim.

My parents had no idea what the internet was like but, to be fair, there was more excuse back then - the internet was brand new. These days, any adult/parent should be well aware of the risks.

Yeah agree with this really, obviously parents should be keeping a close eye on their childs internet activity but the internet is just so accessible now, a 12/13 year old is likely to find ways if they want to. The only way of stopping that is be absolutely militant and never allow them go out with friends etc which is also not a good idea at that age. At that age they should be starting to get some independence. Unfortunately this is just a new thing that parents have to try to navigate and do their best with