Sixteen-year-old Matt plays multiplayer games online, often with people he doesn’t know. Sometimes Matt chats with people in a game, and they exchange personal information or links to social media profiles. Some of the people Matt has met online are adults. Matt thinks it’s cool that someone older would be interested in talking to him. But are the people Matt has met online trustworthy?

Matt’s actions may seem harmless, but trusting someone you met online can be dangerous. Sometimes adults contact teenagers through social media or online games to try to become their friends. Some of these adults may even pose as teenagers on their profiles. Sometimes they say sexual things or ask for private photos. They may even ask for personal information, such as a phone number or an address. They are looking for someone to harm or exploit, and they think teens who are lonely or insecure are prime targets. These adults are called online predators.

It is sometimes difficult for a teenager to know how to deal with strangers online. Many teenagers try to have as many friends or followers on social media as possible. They often have public profiles or accept any “friend request.”

Some people think social media companies should be responsible for protecting teens from online predators. They say that these companies need to do more to ensure that people are not posing as someone else. For example, they believe that companies should find a method to check users’ real identities. Others believe that the minimum user age should be raised to 18, instead of the current limit of 13. Raising the minimum age will not stop imposters, but it might make teenagers and parents more aware of the dangers. Moreover, 18-year-olds are legal adults and should be able to use social media safely.

Others say social media companies cannot do more than they are already doing. There is no reliable method to check a user’s real identity. If one social media app raises the minimum age, teens can just turn to another unmonitored app. This may be even more dangerous. Some think middle and high school students should have their own social media that requires the safeguard of a school-affiliated email address.

Some people believe that schools are responsible for teaching children how to be safe on the internet. Others argue that schools have enough to do and that parents should be responsible for teaching teens to be safe from online predators. They think parents should put filters on their children’s devices and monitor their social media use. Others say that teens have so much unmonitored access to the internet now that they must be responsible for keeping themselves safe.

What do you think? Who should protect teens from online predators?