The story every mum and dad needs to hear as kids groomed and blackmailed on social media

Yahoo

9 hours ago

Children across Birmingham are being groomed and exploited into gangs through social media. It's a frightening truth, but it's the reality here in 2025.
Youths are approached online with offers of high-end trainers or 'fast cash', in return for running drugs or driving a car on behalf of a gang. Once they're involved in that lifestyle, they find themselves carrying knives, machetes and even guns.
Whether its unfiltered videos of stabbings or gangs being glamourized in music videos, children are all being exposed to the same content on social media.
Read more: Birmingham Children's Hospital offers 'harsh truth' as staff fight to save teenage stab victims
We explored the dangers of social media influence on children as part of our Deep Cuts project - a three month investigation into the root causes and societal issues behind knife crime. As part of our five key asks, we're urging all parents to make sure parental controls are applied to their child's phone.
Birmingham's gang police spoke of the cruel tactics used to groom kids online while an ex-gang member told us how social media posts can instigate violence in the real world. We also sought advice from NSPCC, who shared the grooming signs every parent should look out for in their teenagers.
"There's predators that prey on kids that are just given an iPad, or given a phone and parents say 'here you go, leave me alone,'" Sgt Varley, of Operation Guardian, told us.
"They're in their room and it's like kicking them outside and leaving them to fend for themselves - that's the equivalent of it, being a kid on social media, because they don't know what's right and what's wrong.
'They film them performing a sexual act and it will be posted on Snapchat or Instagram if you don't do this.' They are basically like prisoners."
Worryingly, the online world also creates a platform where confrontations - which would otherwise stop at school - can escalate 24/7.
One ex-gang member, who carried a knife and was involved in a street robbery, told BirminghamLive: "If social media wasn't around, a lot of things that happened to me wouldn't have happened.
"Certain arguments that happen should not have gone that far. If group chat wasn't made to carry it on and certain posts weren't made to aggravate people, make people angry and embarrass people.
"Social media is just that thing that puts the cherry on top for everything and just instigate so many things, that don't need to be instigated."
His story is one of fear and hope - and one every parent should read. Though he grew up in Longbridge, he found himself influenced by excluded kids sent to his school.
Mixing with gang-affiliated youths from Handsworth, he was slowly and gradually gripped into a life of crime. In his own words, he spoke of the changes
As well as a youth worker, Ken is a 'peer researcher' currently exploring the link between social media and violence. "Lots of people are the same and they're having the same crisis because one of the top things is social media," he added.
"Everyone is seeing the same content, everyone is seeing the same music. So everyone is listening and taking in the same information.
"Everyone is naturally just talking the same, having the same mentality, having the same Issues, let's say because they're taken in the same things."
As part of Deep Cuts, we also asked the NSPCC for their important advice on protecting children from grooming and exploitation. We were directed to view the signs parents should look out for in their kids - but also warned these could be masked as "normal teenage behaviour."
A spokesman for the NSPCC told us: 'To determine whether a child is being exploited or groomed isn't easy as the signs can be subtle or even hidden. Older children may display what appears to be "normal" teenage behaviour that can otherwise mask more serious underlying problems.
'Children and young people can be groomed by a stranger or someone they know. This can happen either online, in person or both. When a child is groomed online, perpetrators may hide who they are by sending photos or videos of other people. They might target one child online or contact lots of children very quickly and wait for them to respond.
'Groomers will exploit any vulnerability they can to increase the likelihood of a child or young person becoming dependent on them and less likely to speak out. What is more, children may not realise that they are being been groomed. They may have complicated feelings of loyalty, admiration, love, as well as fear, distress and confusion.
'Potential signs of grooming may include whether a child is being very secretive about how and where they're spending their time. They may have an older boyfriend or girlfriend, unexplained amounts of money or new things given to them like clothes and mobile phones. They may also display sexualised behaviour that's not appropriate for their age.
'The impact of grooming can have a lasting impact on victims. It is important that parents speak to their children and address the consequences of violent or illegal behaviour. If parents or carers are concerned about the safety of a child, they should reach out to police or other agencies.
There is also the NSPCC Helpline, where adults can receive free advice and information by calling 0808 800 5000 or emailing [e-mail].'
Meta, which runs WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, highlighted that they had launched Teen Accounts - which "at least 54 million teens around the world" had been moved into.
"This means that they now have enhanced protections, like automatically being placed into private accounts and the strictest setting of our Sensitive Content Control, limits on notifications over night and reminders to leave the app after 60 minutes, and they can only be messaged by people they follow or are already connected to," said a spokesperson for Meta.