‘Children more aware of online red flags’

MANILA, Philippines — Children are becoming more wary of engaging with strangers online than commonly believed, a global study by Save the Children revealed.

The study on online grooming that brought in 604 children across seven countries, including the Philippines, has found that children have become more guided by their gut feelings and are increasingly able to identify “red flags” in online interactions.

“A series of red flags signal that a contact cannot be trusted and, in some instances, are reason enough to block or delete contacts from their online friendship networks,” the study noted.

Red flags include comments about a child’s body or appearance, questions about their location or school, requests for personal information and inquiries about their personal life, such as relationship status.

While children have shown intuitive precautions, they remain vulnerable to offers of incentives, such as a strong desire for friendships or financial benefits, the study maintained.

These kept them connected with strangers and subsequently fall prey to groomers, it noted.

“The findings challenge the stereotype that children are naive in digital spaces. However, there is still an urgent need to strengthen accessible and available online safety education, especially for young girls in disadvantaged communities,” said Wilma Banaga, Save the Children Philippines’ protection adviser.

More children are yearning for lessons on how to identify online risks, distinguish safe and unsafe information to share, know where to seek help, respond appropriately to unknown people and report inappropriate behavior online, the study showed.

Since 2020, Save the Children Philippines has provided knowledge training to 24,628 kids across Metro Manila, Cavite, Davao del Norte, Bukidnon and General Santos City – areas that have been identified as high-risk locations for online abuse of children.

Online abuse of children, including suspected cases, should be reported to Makabata Helpline 1383 or the Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Center’s Aleng Pulis hotline 0919-777-7377, the group said.