The text was certainly crafted to go viral (what in the world is Pete providing security against?), but the claim they're making is still very troubling. If a typical 11 year old girl is getting multiple messages from pedophiles every time she posts a picture on Instagram, that doesn't fit my understanding at all and has very serious implications.
We shouldn't rule out that they're being substantially misleading, but I don't think we should just assume that either.
I find it dubious that each one of them gets over 50 predators attacking them the moment the post a selfie on Instagram. Either a small number of pedophiles would be targeting thousands of kids per hour, or there are millions of pedophiles.
The basic premise of the article rings true (posting selfies on can lead to getting attacked by predators), but the numbers are just ludicrous.
I think you’re right. My intuitive guess of how many teenage kids there are would have been a full order of magnitude lower. At that count, even adjusting for not everyone being on Instagram, I agree there’s no way the numbers can check out.
I think this company is selling panic and hysteria to make a quick buck. The whole thing could well be made up, pure fiction. Their claims aren't worth a discussion.
I don't doubt that this stuff happens. The web is full of filth and excrement. But using the language of moral panic to sell a dubious service is just crass.
If we must wade into the debate about whether kids should have access to it, my answer would be a resounding no. I know of ten year old girls with smartphones. I try to tell people that those things are portals to hell, and they look at me like I have two heads.
The web has morphed into a raging monster, and 'mobile devices' are the devil incarnate.
We should step back from the abyss, or at least refrain from looking into it, lest we discover that we are but monsters ourselves, and the abyss is only a mirror.
We shouldn't rule out that they're being substantially misleading, but I don't think we should just assume that either.