Defend Young Minds

Parents, are you aware of what deepfakes are?

Deepfakes are AI-generated images that can make it appear as though someone is in compromising or explicit situations, even when they are not.

This is a growing concern for teens, and it’s escalating in ways many parents don’t realize. Here are a few stats to consider:

‼️ A recent analysis by WIRED and Indicator found nearly 90 schools and 600 students worldwide have been impacted by AI-generated deepfake n**e images.
‼️ A UNICEF-backed estimate suggests 1.2 million children had sexual deepfakes created of them last year.
‼️ In Spain, 1 in 5 young people reported to Save the Children researchers that deepfake n**e images had been created of them.

This isn’t a distant issue. It’s already inside schools, group chats, and social circles.

And when it happens, how adults respond matters deeply. It can shape whether kids feel blamed or if they feel supported and protected.

Start conversations early. Let your kids know you understand what’s happening online, how to respond if it happens, and that you are a safe place to come to.

Because no child should have to face this alone.

**See the comments to read the full Wired article.

Here’s the truth about p*rnography: exposure to harmful content doesn’t only happen on a child’s personal device. It can happen through:

⚠️ Another child at school
⚠️ An older sibling or cousin
⚠️ A smart device
⚠️ Accidental exposure in everyday environments

👉 That’s why preparing kids BEFORE exposure happens matters so much! 🙏

For young kids, this doesn’t need to be a big or scary conversation. The goal is simply to give them a plan for if/when they see something.

You can teach them to ⤵️:
✅ Turn it off
✅ Turn away
✅ Go tell a safe grown-up

And most importantly, remind them over and over that they will NEVER be in trouble for telling you 🤍

Just like other safety skills, these conversations work best when they happen calmly, simply, and repeatedly over time.

➡️ Want to start this conversation but aren’t sure how? See comments for a resource that will help start these important conversations with your kids 📚

Make sure you're following Defend Young Minds for more practical tools to make tough talks easier and Rooted in Routine for routine-based parenting tips for toddlers and preschoolers

🚨 Parents: Roblox still isn’t as safe as many families assume.

Even with updated parental controls, experts and parents say the platform can still be difficult to monitor and vulnerable to exploitation.

Here’s why families are concerned:

🗣️ In-game chat features can still expose kids to strangers
🕵️‍♂️ Usernames and profiles don’t tell you who’s really behind the screen
💬 Some users use coded language to avoid filters
🕗 Monitoring activity can take a huge amount of time and effort

No parental control is perfect. That’s why kids need to be taught to recognize unsafe behavior, trust their instincts, and come to you when something feels off.

**See the comments to learn more on how to help protect your child online.

⚠️ A new peer-reviewed study reports a clear connection between p*rnography exposure and child s*xual abuse dynamics.

This research describes how p*rnography exposure may influence a child’s understanding of s*xuality, boundaries, and behavior.

It’s important to be clear: this is not a simple cause-and-effect relationship.

Rather, it highlights that when children are exposed early without preparation, they may not have the framework to understand what they’re seeing or how to process it.

That’s why prevention starts before exposure, with simple, age-appropriate conversations that help kids understand what p*rnography is, why it isn’t real, and what to do if they ever encounter it.

📚 For parents who want a starting point for these conversations, Good Pictures Bad Pictures is designed to help you begin in a calm, structured, age-appropriate way.

**See the comments for links to the research and a link to our book, Good Pictures Bad Pictures.

Some of the most important conversations with our kids won’t happen during a planned “talk.”

In those moments, what matters most is that our kids know it’s safe to come to us, and that there’s a simple plan for what to do next. They don’t have to figure it out alone.

Prepared kids. That’s the goal. 🧠

Good Pictures Bad Pictures Jr. is one resource that helps parents start these conversations early, in a way kids can actually understand and remember.

We can’t be everywhere they are online, but we can prepare them to be safer when we’re not there. 📱

**See the comments for a link to the book!

These findings are eye-opening. 👀

Successful Parent shared research exploring the relationship between adolescent smartphone use and emotional wellbeing, and the findings highlight just how deeply digital habits can shape childhood today.

These studies raise important questions about how screen exposure may influence childhood development, mental health, and emotional resilience over time.

At Defend Young Minds, we hope research like this encourages thoughtful conversations, greater awareness, and meaningful change.

Kids are growing up in a digital world that’s shaping them every day. Start conversations early about what they may inevitably face online, and help them build an internal filter that can help guide them as they navigate it. 💙

🎥 YouTube can be an incredible learning tool, but it also opens the door to mature and sexualized content that can show up in unexpected ways.

Even with “kids” settings in place, content can still slip through filters and autoplay pathways parents don’t always see.

That’s why layers of support are essential in your protection plan.

Here are a few ways to strengthen those layers at home:

✔️ Use YouTube Kids or supervised accounts for younger children
✔️ Turn on Restricted Mode and disable autoplay
✔️ Check watch history regularly and stay aware of patterns
✔️ Watch together whenever possible (especially for younger kids)
✔️ Limit or block access when supervision isn’t realistic

And most importantly: build an internal filter.

When kids learn to recognize, question, and reject what doesn’t feel right, they are learning to navigate the digital world with confidence.

What’s one boundary that’s worked well in your home?