Apathy could expose kids to sexual exploitation online, psychologist warns

 Fauziah Saad says many parents only advise their children against watching 'nonsense' online.

Psychologist Fauziah Saad said children do not understand the risks that social media or the internet presents. (Envato Elements pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Many parents fail to keep tabs on the type of apps their children download or the content they view, a psychologist says, warning that such apathy could expose children to sexual exploitation online.

Fauziah Saad of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris said many parents merely advise their children against watching “nonsense” online.

“But children do not understand the risks that social media or the internet presents.

“This (failure to understand such risks) opens children to subtle exploitation, especially when predators approach their intended victims via social media, online games, and messaging apps to groom them,” she told FMT, adding that parents play a vital role in protecting their children from such sexual exploitation.

Fauziah was commenting on deputy communications minister Teo Nie Ching’s statement that Malaysia had recorded 100 cases involving child sexual abuse material so far this year.

Teo said that according to police data, 31 such cases were recorded in 2020. This rose to 44 in 2021, dropped to 28 in 2022, then spiked to 67 in 2023 and 68 in 2024. She also warned that the actual scale of the problem could be far worse.

Fauziah said many children do not understand the dangers of sharing private pictures or videos, the importance of body privacy, and the risks of interacting with strangers online.

She said sexual health education, including understanding personal boundaries and consent, as well as cyber safety education, should be taught from a young age.

Similarly, child psychologist Noor Aishah Rosli said parents must play a bigger role in online safety and ensuring that victims receive the support needed to prevent them from suffering trauma.

“Many parents are afraid of discussing sexual-related matters with their children, even though it is important to teach kids about personal boundaries and the dangers of digital exploitation,” said Noor Aishah of CPC International, a centre that provides therapy.

She said child predators tend to manipulate their victims emotionally before exploiting them.

She also said that such predators are becoming bolder as they are able to hide behind fake accounts. - FMT