It’s a great way of keeping in touch with friends and family and posting photo’s of themselves and loved ones.
But how safe is it really?
Facebook asks for details such as your home address, cellphone number and other personal details.
It is not compulsory to add them and there is the option to make that information private, but very few actually do.
Posting a photo of your seven-year-old daughter may seem innocent to you and many others.
But predators are always on the lookout.
So you post the picture with your daughter’s name and perhaps the school she will be going to.
And that’s it.
That’s all they need.
They now have a photo of your child, her age and the school she will be attending.
I say this, not to scare anyone or to change their mind about using Facebook, but to caution and inform.
Human trafficking is, unfortunately, ripe all around the world.
And predators are using any and all tools at their disposal to get what they want.
A young and innocent teenager may post pictures that some will see as inviting, they check their personal details on the profile or sweet talk the youngster into getting it.
And like that, the teen may become a target.
Accepting invites from people you don’t know opens the door for many possibilities.
A Facebook profile can easily be made up with false information to make people trust them.
One may think that this can never happen to them and it’s only things they hear about and see in the media.
But bad things happen right in our backyard which many are ignorant about.
There’s a saying that goes: ‘Ignorance is bliss.”
Is it really? I don’t agree.
Being aware of the dangers out there may just save you from becoming a target, or worse, a victim.
It’s almost daily that we read about a child gone missing or having been abducted and later found lifeless.
This is not a very pleasant thought, but perhaps necessary.
We can’t keep ignoring the tragedies happening around us and thinking we are safe from this.
Until it happens to your neighbour or a friend… or a family member.
And you realise just how close to home it truly is.
Because what makes you safer than that person?
Bad things don’t come so that you can see them coming a mile away, neither is it obvious.
They come in sneaky packages, silent and quiet and then strike when you least expect it.
Again, it may not be pleasant thinking about this, but it definitely may be necessary.
Some food for thought.
