The Dangers of the Internet Environment
It is no secret that nowadays there are a number of websites that can not only push underage users to commit illegal acts but also pose a danger to their lives.
With each passing year, the development of communication skills, including skills in using the Internet, among modern children is becoming increasingly intense. They master the basics of working with new technical devices (gadgets) and services faster and more easily, often without understanding the inherent dangers and threats of the Internet environment.
Social networks, dating sites… Virtual communication distorts the communicative abilities and skills of children, complicating the process of real communication. Practice shows that in online correspondence, minors allow themselves more conflictual statements, the use of profanity, etc., even if they did not allow such rhetoric in real life. The permissiveness and pseudo-anonymity of the network create the illusion that one can behave the same way among peers, which in turn leads to the social isolation of the child. The latter provokes spending more and more time online. The circle is closed. Moreover, there is a direct threat to the life and health of minors from strangers offering personal meetings, as well as various types of fraud.
Currently, communication through social networks is becoming a tool for manipulating the fragile psyche of underage users for various purposes. One of the popular messengers for this purpose has become Telegram.
Who and why needed to turn Telegram channels into information weapons?
Currently, destructive messengers call for chaos in the streets, disseminate fakes, and bombard people who have expressed their opinions in support of peace, stability, and security in Belarus with threats and insults. How do the technologies work, and can children be protected from the negative influence of online platforms?
The Internet is widely used to create negative information triggers, intimidate those who support the state, and constantly inject fakes that incite public discontent. The preparation of illegal actions and recruitment of supporters is carried out, including in Viber and Telegram. What is happening in the country is part of the technologies aimed at destabilizing the situation. As we can see, there is an attempt to generate distrust towards the authorities and law enforcement agencies on one hand, and on the other hand, to instill uncertainty in their actions among the employees themselves.
Everyone sees what the riots, which certain resources try to present as "peaceful" actions, lead to. Initially, people were called to the streets in Telegram channels, and actions of groups were also coordinated.
Telegram attracts the public with its simplicity and reputation as a platform protected from hacking, guaranteeing users complete anonymity. Mainly, as statistics show, Telegram is popular among Internet users who come to this platform for communication, in search of freedom of expression and virtual independence. As for the tools for manipulating the audience in Telegram, they do not differ from those that unscrupulous media have long resorted to: publication of dubious data, sensational tone, substitution of concepts, and other tricks. Such techniques are now widely used. For example, the anonymous nature of the messenger is exploited: one can observe how unreliable information is introduced into the media space in the form of "insider" on some channel or "rumor" shared by an opinion leader, and then widely disseminated by the media. Even if the information is later refuted, the emotional intensity has been achieved, and in this case, it is the most important thing. In short, today we see how various possibilities of the service are used: here is political advertising, satire in the form of memes, activist chats, and the confrontation of bot armies.
It is incorrect to view Telegram in black-and-white terms and see only evil in it. There are also educational channels, interesting chats, expert blogs that are enjoyable to read. At the same time, an ordinary user should not harbor illusions about this platform: under the guise of exchanging "truthful insider information," PR campaigns are often conducted or technologies for influencing public opinion are honed.
Parents and legal representatives should be interested in the child's circle of communication online, "gently" controlling communication with peers, paying special attention to the facts of communication with adults and peers with whom the child is not acquainted in real life.
Senior Assistant Prosecutor
Braslav District A.P. Holosuy