Instagram is the favorite social network of children
The minors are one of the main consumer groups of social networks, currently and this year the International Children's Day, which is traditionally celebrated on November 20, is dedicated to raise society's awareness of children's rights, in addition to highlighting their vulnerability in what situations.
Precisely, it is in the field of social networks, where minors are more unprotected against the possible dangers that lurk in the world of the Internet. According to the Annual IAB Social Networks Study, Instagram is the preferred social network among children under 12 to 18 years old and is the one that brings together a greater percentage of users under 10 years old.
These figures contrast with those of other platforms. So, while in Facebook and YouTube, users oscillate between 18 and 49 years, in Twitter, the range goes down between 18 and 29 years old on average. In light of these data, minors are overexposed in social networks can be victims of situations of Internet harassment and we must endow them with tools to avoid risks.
Dangers of social networks for children
In 2016, ANAR, the Foundation for Assistance to Children and Adolescents at risk, registered 1,207 cases of real harassment with the appearance of cyberbullying, an action that adds to the different dangers that appear on the internet and from which minors are the most accessible target.
The same goes for the publication of your photographs online, which can have catastrophic consequences, being defenseless before possible blackmail and even used to market with child pornography.
But these are not the only known risks, there are real cases in which some minor has been victim of identity theft, being your data and photographs used for inappropriate purposes.
Another of the most feared events by users is the grooming, with which the smallest can become vvictims of sexual harassment through social networks. The University of Lleida published in 2016, the study New technologies and sexual victimization of minors by online Grooming, which shows that more than 60% of victims are girls and that 3 out of 4 offenders are men.
In these situations, it is essential to take preventive measures for the safety of the little ones, to protect their privacy. It is necessary to maintain control over the profiles and publications of the children, in addition to acting in time to be able to tackle any incident.
How to remove an Instagram account
These are the keys to be able to eliminate, in a simple and permanent way, an Instagram account step by step:
1. Open the Instagram.com website and enter the access data of the account to be deleted. There is the possibility of temporarily disabling an account, but if the pretense is that the published images disappear indefinitely, it must be eliminated
2. Click on the "help" button located at the bottom of the page, and directly access "manage your account" and then the option "delete your account" appears.
3. After clicking on this button, the web shows "what do I have to do to eliminate my account?" By clicking "go to the page to delete your account", you will proceed to the final elimination of the profile object of suspicion.
As a recommendation, parents should be aware of all the active profiles that children can count on, guarantee their privacy and ensure that they do not share personal information, know what their contacts and conversations are, and how they are exposed, since, all content that is published on the Internet, is likely to be shared or used for illegal purposes.
Finally, in the case of detecting that children are facing a situation of harassment or danger, it is important to go to the authorities to report the facts as soon as possible.
Marina Berrio
Advice: SocialPubli.com
