Disturbing and Predacious TikTok Trend Has Parents Very Worried
(FeaturedNews.com) – Moms are deleting images of their children from the popular video-sharing app TikTok after fans of a three-year-old girl pointed out the disturbing habits of some of her followers. Little Wren Eleanor toddles around the platform in videos shared millions of times, doing what cute little kids do. A deeper dive into her following shows a trend that has parents thinking twice about exposing their little ones to the unpredictable — and often dangerous — online world.
A Disturbing Trend
The attention began when people who followed the popular account noticed unusual download habits on certain videos. For example, a video of the girl eating a pickle earned 345,000 “saves,” a feature allowing users to easily find videos later. A clip of her wearing a cropped shirt had 45,000 marks. They also pointed out that search terms for the young star eating a pickle or hotdog were prominent.
Makayla Musick, a TikTok mom with a much smaller following than Wren, saw the issue and decided to remove her child’s images and videos from the online world altogether. The concerned mom told Fox News Digital that the risk of perverted people looking at and possibly obsessing over her kid just simply wasn’t worth it.
The mother told the network she was “both surprised and unsurprised” by the concerning activity involving children. She’s well aware that there are horrible people out there. The last thing she will do is offer possible perverts free material involving her family.
An Expert Weighs In
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Executive Director Calahan Walsh was born into the fight against the exploitation of children. He is the son of John Walsh, founder of the center, who started the journey to help others many years ago. In 1981, the Walshes lost their other son, Adam, to a predator when he was just a toddler. The tragedy was the unfortunate spark that inspired the organization, which his younger brother would one day manage. Sadly, the siblings never met.
Calahan Walsh agrees with Musick that the risk of online exposure isn’t worth the reward. He told Fox that predators start small and evolve into full-fledged monsters. The action may begin with something as simple as looking at a child without a shirt on but build into an obsession. Once a deranged individual gets away with looking at a picture, they may move to more images and videos and possibly attempt contact.
As a child gets older, the peril grows. A sicko following close enough may find something they can use to blackmail kids into sending them more explicit. The tactic is a demented means to gain control over another human being using fear.
Fortunately, at least some moms are taking the hint and dropping out to protect their families.
Do you allow pictures of your children or grandchildren online?
Copyright 2022, FeaturedNews.com
