Social media is a fantastic tool where people can go to keep in touch with friends and family all over the world. It allows you to share your experiences, your opinion and fun pictures to a much wider audience. However, there are also negative elements to social media. Victim support an online charity that strives to protect vulnerable people from internet crime highlights and makes clear the dangers of social media. I for one have heard stories in the news of Cyber bullying or trolling as it has recently been labelled.

Below is a list of what Victim Support highlight as the dangers of social media:

  • Sending nasty or threatening texts or emails
  • Posting abusive messages online – this can be on a social networking site, in a chatroom, or using instant messaging
  • Posting humiliating videos or pictures online, or sending them on to other people
  • Taking on someone else’s identity online in order to upset them
  • Setting up a hate site or a hate group on an social networking site
  • Prank calling
  • Self-taken images (sexting), which are images sent from young people to friends and may be used against them to bully, threaten or harass them.
  • Online grooming, which is a process used to prepare a child for sexual abuse. An offender’s aim will be to gain access to a child and build a relationship with them. They will often lie and may share conversations with a sexual theme, pornography and / or sexual images. Some offenders may persuade children to perform sexual acts on webcam. An offender may try to get a child to meet them in the real world in order to abuse them.

- See more at: https://www.victimsupport.org.uk/help-victims/help-young-victims/ive-been-affected/social-media#sthash.bD6Ml5Y4.dpuf

Yet despite all the risks mentioned above we are aware that the people we care for need privacy as well as protection. Social media sites like Facebook need more regulations and more restrictions , stopping strangers accessing images that do not belong to them. I feel that it is our responsibility as members of the worldwide community to provide an expressive and safe space. Where everyone can communicate online in a safe way.

That is why inspirative arts have started using a form of social media called Multi-me.

if you wish to find out more then follow the link below.

http://tllg.net/3Jk5o5