Cyberbullying, social marginalization and radicalization of ideas and thoughts. These were the central topics discussed during the session of the seventh council commission “Work and Youth Policies”, chaired by Marcantonino Malaraheld in recent days with the hearing of the director of the Cyber Security Operations Center Police post of the “Calabria” communications, Mario Lanzaro and of the policewoman working in the same department, Maria Luisa Rossello.
President Malara underlined how the objective of the municipal administration is to initiate discussion and listening to implement synergistic activities so as to ensure that everyone can do their part to increase and raise awareness, especially among young people, thus giving a contribution that is becoming dramatic.
The intervention of the Manager Lanzaro
The Lanzaro manager highlighted how it is not possible to give a precise number of the situation in the world of the web with reference to the city of Reggio Calabria alone: “There are similar problems compared to those of all the other territories of the nation – has explained – and most crimes are committed in one place, while the victim is somewhere else entirely. What is certain is that in Reggio Calabria there seems to be a sense of periphery and remoteness. However, it is not always understood that a computer connected in a town in the Calabrian hinterland is exposed to exactly the same risks as one located in Manhattan”. Lanzaro identified three macro areas of interest: cyberbullying, the discomfort and social marginalization of individuals criminally affected on the internet; a phenomenon of radicalization and extremization of ideas and thoughts. In the background, an economic cybercrime problem.
The attention of the director of the Postal Police was focused on cyberbullying. “At this point – he underlined – there is almost no bullying left that doesn’t have its part on the web. It manifests itself in various aspects. Stalking is one of the worst ones.” Lanzaro made the necessary differences with a few years ago: “30 years ago, bullying manifested itself through a person who, for example, took the sandwich, joked, made fun of you. That was old-time bullying. Today there is perennial bullying that follows you everywhere. Once upon a time, the bullied had safe spaces at home or school. Today there are no safe spaces and the bully follows you everywhere, with a boundless audience. There is a serious problem of social hardship.”
Sexting
Another very complex plague, and closely linked to cyberbullying, is that of sexting: “This problem has devastating numbers. Teenagers share intimate files or videos very easily. This means placing images in third hands that are at the mercy of other people. While before it was thought that photos could be removed, now, on the internet, nothing will ever really be removed. The police will be able to identify, investigate and convict whoever put those photos into circulation, but the files will remain there. Let’s forget that they can actually be removed. Here, I notice a difficulty in understanding the difference between virtual and real. What you do on social media has real effects that remain. I notice parents’ discomfort in dealing with similar problems that arise from it. The best weapon, in this sense, remains prevention. It would be desirable to open a service in the area to provide support to those who have had problems of this kind.”
Maria Luisa Rossello instead it went into more detail about sexting, representing how it consists of an exchange of audio and video messages of a sexual nature, including images of nudes and semi-naked people. “It – has explained – is part of the process of building and discovering sexual identity. There are kids who feel they need to demonstrate love and trust and be accepted by their peers. Sending and sharing this material gives rise to many consequences, first and foremost in the legal field. The minor who is forced to share this will be the victim of a crime, the phenomenon encompassing both child pornography crimes and instigation of the minor to produce the material. The conduct of anyone who forces him to do this is criminally punishable”.
“At the basis of all this there are pathologies, personality disorders, problems of a socio-cultural nature. To prevent it, we need ever greater education on sexuality and affectivity so as not to incur these abuses. Everyone has the right to live their sexuality and dialogue with parents is fundamental. When a parent notices sexting, it is necessary to understand the nature of the gesture, whether it is between minors or whether it is rather online solicitation. Once this phase has been overcome, it is essential not to judge the child, not to point out the mistakes. The kids are fragile and are building their personality and their dreams, a form of attack by the caregivers could be counterproductive and lead them to carry out extreme impulsive acts”.
Sexestortion
Sexting is the precursor to two other types of problems: sexestortion And revenge porn. The phenomenon of sexestortion occurs when sexual extortion occurs. “The teenager is approached online through fake profiles, with attractive girls or boys. At first with innocent chats, but which in reality hide real criminal organizations. Then come the increasingly insistent requests for money and then the threat of dissemination of the material. You must not give in to extortionate requests because if you give in the first time, many others will follow and they will be increasingly insistent and expensive, and the scammer will understand that on the other side there is a certain financial availability. You should not delete messages or chats with this organisation, but take screenshots of the profiles on which you were contacted and the threats received.”. Rossello highlighted how reports can also be made on the State Police website.
Revenge porn
As for the revenge pornis that phenomenon in which “a couple decides to take different paths and one of the two partners, to humiliate the ex, spreads sexually explicit material without the ex-partner’s consent. The phenomenon is based on the emotional psychological construct of the victim. Prevention is fundamental. Also in this case, reporting to the police is fundamental, as is psychological support.”
Romance scams
Lastly, the member of the State Police discussed the sentimental scams. “They mostly involve women aged between 40 and 60, established on a professional level, cultured and attractive. They are separated or widowed and very fragile from an emotional point of view. They are in need of attention and flattery. They are contacted via social networks and the persuasive ability of the other party, who studies their profiles and monitors their interests and hobbies, materializes initially with not very insistent compliments”.
“When he steals trust, he fears the desire to start a family, get married and have children. This is how a love relationship is born that leaves the time to be found, because when the time comes to meet, the scammer will make every possible excuse, such as health care to be done, or that he has been robbed and does not have the financial resources to buy the tickets. Or even wanting to buy a house but not being able to get a mortgage. The woman, now tied to her person, given that there is a disorder linked to her personality such as emotional dependence, will give in to the requests for money that come her way. Your requests were initially of little importance, but then very important, which we have ascertained can reach up to 500 thousand euros.”
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