News From The Desk Of DeSoto County Sheriff Potter: “Keeping Children Safe In The Digital Age”

We can’t stop talking about how important it is to keep our children safe in this digital age.  The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office has gathered 24 Apps parents should watch out for.  There are other apps which we have not listed but the same premise applies!

In this third informational article we provide a chart with explanations as to how each app is used by criminals and predators to take advantage of our children.   An “App” can be downloaded on many different electronic devices such as a standard computer, tablet or a mobile phone.  Parents and Children should stay alert because people aren’t always who they seem to be in online environments where identity is easy to fake!!  In the most respectful way, we ask a simple question.  Would you drop off your child at a strange place and let them roam on their own?  Letting them roam the internet on their own is like just dropping them off in a strange unknown place to fend for themselves.

Although unsupervised interactions within an app can lead to a very dangerous situation for a child, it is important to note that, generally, the apps themselves are providing a legitimate service or a platform. However, predators that seek to harm our children will use any tool or tactic to accomplish their mission and we must be mindful of the ways in which they operate so we can protect our kids from the dangers they can’t see for themselves. The purpose of this article isn’t to scare you, but rather, the purpose is to provide you with the information you need to ensure that your child is interacting with the digital world safely and securely.

The DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting classes on a soon to be announced date(s), time(s) and location regarding this topic for parents and responsible adults caring for children.