Social Media and You: Don’t Become The Prey

Image via CrunchBase

Tools are invented to solve a problem or make life easier in some specific way.  The human race has been developing and inventing ingenious methods to revolutionize their lives for centuries.  The internet is arguably the most spectacular of all technological advances of our era, and teams have been working to develop it further ever since its origin in the late 1950’s.  Today, it is a tool that the young and old use for a multitude of purposes.  The plethora of information out in cyberspace provides students, researchers and lay inquirers instant knowledge on any topic you can think of.  Shoppers can deplete their credit card balance without leaving the confines of their homes.  Writers find themselves with an expanded audience and social media annihilated distance boundaries and has brought people across the globe together.

While the list of benefits of the internet cannot be disputed, there are some very real dangers that vulnerable people can fall victim to, particularly with reference to the phenomenal increase in social media use and online dating sites.

Whether a webcam is used or not, it is impossible to tell if the person you are communicating with is genuine.  Social cues that we normally use are an evolutionary survival skill, intended to judge a persons’ character are absent in online interactions.  Some of these cues include making eye contact, and interpreting facial expression, tone of voice, posture, plus other mannerisms we take for granted without even being conscious of them. 

Believing everything someone writes in a chat box or an email is a big mistake.  Unless you know your confidante personally, there is absolutely no way of knowing what they are telling you about themselves is truthful.  Don’t we all like to tell people the good things about ourselves and try to avoid discussing the unattractive elements of our personality?  Few people brag about their criminal behavior and hang-ups when they are trying to forge a good impression.

Predators will exaggerate their good qualities and may present themselves as pillars of their community.  They are intelligent, charismatic and look no different to anyone else you might meet on the street.  There is no identifiable physical trait that separates them from the rest of the population but they are very skilled in manipulation.

Who is most at risk?

In a single word, everyone.  That is anyone who uses social media, whether for the purpose of finding a mate or just socializing and keeping in touch with friends and family.  Children need to be monitored if they have access to instant messaging clients, Facebook, twitter and parents need to know their child’s account information.  Not all of what is posted on Facebook and Twitter is visible to all friends.  So, just being added to the friends list is not enough.  They will most likely be utilizing private messages too!

Women are another primary target, and the majority will be single and most likely experiencing low self-esteem, previous failed relationships.  Women with children they may be more vulnerable than most.  It’s uplifting for lonesome women to feel that someone has a romantic interest in them, and it’s exciting when their knight-in-shining-armor miraculously appears in their life, in all his grandeur.  It’s time to stop believing in fairy tales, ladies.

Let’s not forget the men; they are not always the perpetrator in this cat-and-mouse-game.  There are women out there who target men too.  Before someone is targeted, don’t give yourself any delusions on this, they are thoroughly researched.  When someone has a purpose, they choose their victims carefully.  As we all agree, the internet is a wonderful resource of information.  Anything posted in cyberspace is permanent, and a skilled researcher can find the information they need.  The things we post, publish, share, tells the person reading it a lot of information about us.  Unsuspecting men are most often targeted for their income and can easily fall prey to a greedy manipulator.

Don’t be put off socializing online, many people have met through online dating sites and internet chats, got together, married and lived happily together.  Just know that if someone seems too good to be true, trust your instincts and block their communications.  Ignoring someone online that you do not know is not rude, and does not make you a bad person.

There are many reasons a person will be deliberately targeted, sometimes for sex, sometimes for a relationship, sometimes because they are genuinely interested in you.  Too often these situations become a means of control and abuse.  When we consider the global expanse of the internet, and the amount of users online at any one time, it would be foolish to think that every single being using this wonderful technology has good intentions.

Be safe!