Kerby Anderson

We are facing a significant mental health crisis with our children and young adults. Elizabeth Fisher Good persuasively argues that we can be “Protecting our Kids’ Mental Health by Protecting their Sexual Health.” The stress, anxiety, and depression they exhibit are due to more than a lack of personal connection.

She warns, “Our children are being targeted online like never before by those who only seek to use and abuse them.” She explains, “Predators pose as peers on their favorite social media apps or online gaming chatrooms, forming what feels like a real connection to our lonely and disconnected kids seeking affirmation and acceptance.”

She also explains the way these traffickers use established grooming techniques. “They’ll ask for innocent-sounding photos at first, pushing for more and more each time until suddenly our kids are now under the control of this person and feel they have no one to turn to for help.”

The statistics from the Internet are overwhelming. The best estimates are that probably half a million predators are online every day. That suggests that about one in nine children will receive an online sexual solicitation. And once predators have secured a sexual image of a child, they can digitally manipulate it. This is referred to as child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

One article from Psychology Today on “The Long-Lasting Consequences of Child Sexual Abuse,” explains that it doesn’t seem to matter whether the abuse is physical or virtual. The long-term impact is anxiety, depression, PTSD, personality disorders, and eating disorders. I might also point out that the consequences may take years to develop.

We are rightly concerned with the mental health issues facing children and young adults. To protect their mental health, we must also protect their sexual health.