Attention seeking behaviour leaves girls more susceptible to danger on social media than boys – advocate

The Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) says a study it conducted shows that girls are more susceptible to danger on social media than boys.

The study examined how children use social media and, sampled children from grades 7-10 from schools across all parishes.

Children’s Advocate, Diahann Gordon Harrison says the study showed that girls are more likely to have 'public' social media pages than boys.

She says they were also more likely to endanger themselves because of attention-seeking behaviour on social media.

The findings have prompted the OCA to formulate a social media guide for children to help prevent exploitation on the Internet.

Gordon Harrison, says the guide called ‘Be Social … Be Smart’ will be launched next month as part of the OCA's child's month activities.

Gordon Harrison says parents should surf the Internet, and participate on social media platforms with their children to understand how they are using them.