I have always thought that social networks could be compared with a double-edged sword: they can be very useful and provide us with great tools for daily life, but they can also be the portal through which negative or inappropriate contents reach our lives.
One of these types of content is the viral and absurd challenges that appear from time to time. The most recent is called "Olivia", a viral with pornographic content that circulates on WhatsApp.
A few months ago we talked about "Momo", the WhatsApp network that was causing terror among children and adolescents. Now, what seems to be his successor and that like "Momo" seeks to deceive the youngest, is "Olivia", pretending to be a girl.
Unlike the previous WhatsApp chain, Olivia begins with a message from an unknown number, which claims to be "friend of a friend" of the same school of the person who receives it, usually minors, who are the target of this viral.
Of course, who receives it does not know who it is, so naturally asks his name. Then "Olivia" responds and to verify that he knows the recipient, he tells him that he has a photograph in which they appear together the three: Olivia, the person who receives the message and the supposed friend in common.
Then "Olivia" will send a link of the photograph that he claims to have, but this is a link that leads to a web page with pornographic content. It is known that for the moment most of the cases have occurred in Europe and a few days ago the Chesire police in England alerted about the situation on their Twitter account:
I have been made aware of worrying WhatsApp messages being sent from a number registered overseas. The sender pretends to be a friend with a new number but then sends a pornographic picture. If your kids use the App please have a chat with them & check their messages #HereForYou pic.twitter.com/g4uxAqSg8A
- Halton Brook Police (@HaltonBrookPol) September 4, 2018
Right there several users responded that they or their children had received the messages of the alleged Olivia, but who did not recognize her had decided not to respond and block her.
How to prevent this type of viral from reaching our children
We know that "Olivia" is not the first nor will it be the last of this kind of absurd virals that can put the youngest at risk, and therefore we must take certain measures to protect and above all, alert our children When I try to contact someone unknown.
Before giving a mobile to our children It is important that we talk about the responsible use of social networks, as well as the dangers that could be exposed when using it, like this type of viral, sexual harassment or cyberbullying.
Of course, the ideal is postpone as much as we can to give our children a mobile, because the main means of harassment is the mobile phone and WhatsApp is the most used application. Do not forget to educate them to use social networks with caution, and teach them how they should act when someone unknown tries to contact them through their mobile phones.
