The death of a 10-year-old girl from the Italian city of Palermo, who took part in a challenge called “scarf play” on the social network TikTok, shocked Italy, with the authorities deciding to block the application for users whose age is not guaranteed. Bogdan Botezatu, IT security expert, explained on Monday evening at Digi24 how dangerous the TikTok application is and what solutions can be taken so that such a tragedy does not happen again.
“The TikTok problem is probably the problem that any social network suffers from. Lots of young people trying to do a lot of traffic, doing more or less dangerous things. TikTok is one of the networks that has started to grow explosively, but it is not the only network that has such problems. A few years ago it was fashionable to eat detergent pills, a few months ago it was fashionable to dance outside the car that was still on the street. Adolescents, young people have always been rebellious, trying to make as many views as possible in order to monetize these accounts “, explained Bogdan Botezatu.
He stressed that the little ones will try to imitate the behavior, in order to try to belong to the social network or to be part of the “trends of the day”.
The expert said that “it is very difficult to identify a user, as long as you do not make him take a photo with an identity card or with the parents to allow him on that social network.”
Bogdan Botezatu specified that part of the problem is that sometimes parents leave their children unattended on the internet, while they work or do something else at home. He identified as a solution the use of electronic devices and the Internet, in the first years of life, together with parents: “Somewhere to pay attention to what the child consumes and how he interacts with the Internet.”
He added that the little ones should be encouraged to tell their parents when they have a problem on the internet or reach problematic content.
Asked if this challenge can be compared to “Blue Whale” – a game from 2017, which encourages young people to perform increasingly dangerous challenges for 50 days, until the last stage: suicide – Bogdan Botezatu replied that that game “was a trend that I got rid of much too easily”, in the sense that “in the end it turned out to be a series of stories and phantasmagorias that children changed, but did not have a real impact on their lives”.
“Unfortunately, I think we have a real problem with the lack of technological education that could be on the street. At least when we were new students, someone would come to school to give us a road education course. At this moment, we have an extraordinary weapon in our hand, which we can use to our advantage or to our detriment. Technology is a weapon and should be taught in school so that everyone understands how to interact safely on the internet, how to avoid potential sexual predators or strangers trying to harm you in some way. Or another, “said the IT security expert.
Asked how he would characterize the TikTok application, Bogdan Botezatu said that “it is a network with a lot of appeal to young people. Two years ago it did not exist on technological radar and now it is one of the most viral content sharing networks in the world”. “A lot of marketing capital has been invested in growing this network precisely among young people and it is in the interest of the network that any image, any content to go viral very quickly to have exposure to as many young people as possible.”
