Parents, do you know what your kids are doing online?

Mar. 30—Skyrocketing use of social media and phone apps among children has left youth vulnerable to online predators, especially when parents who are less tech-savvy than their kids don't know what to be on the look out for.

In hopes of arming parents with the tools to safeguard their kids from online exploitation, the Waynesville Police Department and KARE (Kids Advocacy Resource Effort) co-hosted an information session last week at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville.

Crimes involving child exploitation and explicit photos of children have been on the rise, according to Waynesville Police Sgt. Tamara Vander Day. From 2019 to 2021, there was a 159% increase in the number of CyberTips across the state of North Carolina.

In Waynesville specifically, the number of child abuse cases involving the internet more than doubled from 2019 to 2022.

The information session was held just days after the alarming case of a 13-year-old Texas girl who was groomed online by a male predator before being kidnapped and transported to North Carolina, where she was locked in a shed and sexually assaulted.

Exploitation doesn't necessarily involve in-person contact, however. Dave Clancy, the school resource officer for Waynesville Middle, pointed to the case of Michael Lucas Chansler, a 31-year-old Florida man serving a 105-year federal prison sentence for coercing over 350 underage girls to send explicit photos of themselves.

However, the issue does not mean that parents should hide their children.

"It's easy to go into a cave of fear, but that's not why we're here," said Abby Bearden, the program director at KARE.

The group of presenters offered tips on how to keep kids safe, while still allowing them to have access to the internet and social media.

"They're going to crash, so we need to have guardrails," said Clancy. Clancy, who spends his days inside the halls of a middle school, sees first hands the challenges youth have navigating the pressures of social media and smart phones.

Waynesville Assistant Police Chief Brandon Gilmore spoke on some of the guardrails to have in place. Gilmore said it is important to know who your child is — both in-person and their online presence. He also said that parents need to be responsible for setting boundaries on what websites their children can look at and what apps they use.

Monitoring the accounts and apps children use is critical to ensure they aren't posting inappropriate or racy photos of themselves.

"This sounds like very common knowledge, but some of the photos on these sites are very provocative and that's what predators target: someone who has racy-type photos on their profiles," Gilmore said.

He also suggested "no tech zones" around the house, such as in the bedroom and in the bathroom, to ensure that children's internet activity can always be monitored. Alongside that, he said that parents should set limits on screen time, require approval before downloading new apps or accepting friend requests, as well as monitoring messages.

"This might sound intrusive, but you also have to communicate why it's important that you know these things," Gilmore said.

Often, children stumble onto something inappropriate or something that makes them uncomfortable. It's important for kids to know they can share what saw — or if a stranger reaches out to them online — without fear of getting in trouble.

"There's many things online and often times kids fall into it on accident," Gilmore said.

Clancy highlighted a website called SmartSocial that educates parents on websites and social media apps that their children may indulge in and what dangers they may pose. The site shows parents how to navigate these sites safely and has a mobile app to make it easier for parents to quickly use.

Paige Shell, the lead detective on child abuse cases in Waynesville, said that every resident in North Carolina is considered a mandated reporter in child abuse cases, whether it be in-person or online in nature. If someone believes they know of a crime, even without concrete proof, they are required to report it to the authorities, Shell said.