MEDIA: Ms. Opal Singleton gives presentation on the dangers of social media and how it can lead to involvement in human trafficking and prostitution.
By Emily Hughes, Staff Writer
On March 25, Ms. Opal Singleton, president and CEO of Million Kids, gave a presentation to select Poly student leaders in the Poly library. The presentation focused on social media’s influence and power and how it can affect adolescents’ lives in many derogatory ways.
In her presentation, Singleton described the ways young people can be drawn into prostitution and human trafficking rings via different social media outlets. Not only did she explain the ways in which adolescents with low self-esteem are targeted, Singleton also described and condemned the ways “pimps” lure young girls and boys into prostitution. Singleton claimed that applications such as Kik and Omegle allow millions of adolescents to send and receive nude photos, and once these photos are sent, they can never disappear. She also described the ways in which video games are channels for traffickers to find and recruit victims. Through anecdotes and statistics, Singleton showed the extent of the trafficking and media problem. According to Singleton, of the 6,000 adolescents in Riverside County that run away each year, 35-37% of them will engage in prostitution within the first 48 hours of leaving their homes in order to survive.
Not only did Singleton speak about human trafficking and social media, she also commented on social websites and applications that allow people to anonymously converse. Singleton explained the problems with these websites and how they can be extremely damaging to children. Adolescents can be lured into sending nude photos or can be influenced by someone who is not who they present themselves to be. These websites and applications can also allow cruelty to go unchecked and can give “bullies” the ability to hurt many people.
Singleton’s Riverside-based, nonprofit organization, Million Kids, is committed to helping adolescent victims of human trafficking. Not only does the organization engage in training students and adults to understand the workings of human trafficking, it also assists victims by offering advice and promoting search for lost children.
Singleton asked students to make sure they think twice before posting anything to social media, to be wary and knowledgeable of the human trafficking system and to remember that cruelty online can truly affect their peers for the rest of their lives.
For more information on Million Kids, visit www.millionkids.org.