Follow-up: Clarifying My Earlier Post on Online Safety Concerns
After sharing information about online exploitation concerns in the West Shore area, I want to add clarification so this topic stays grounded, accurate, and useful.
This is an important conversation, but it needs to stay balanced so we avoid fear and focus on real protection.
What is confirmed
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has confirmed they are investigating reports involving online exploitation concerns targeting youth in the West Shore area.
Local leadership, including the Songhees Nation, has also helped bring attention to youth safety and wellbeing in the community.
This tells us:
- There are real concerns being taken seriously
- Authorities are encouraging awareness and reporting
- Youth safety online is an active priority
What is still not fully clear
Some names circulating online (such as “764” or similar labels) are:
- not formal organizations
- not stable or clearly defined groups
- sometimes reused or reshaped across online spaces
What matters most is not the label, but the pattern of behaviour that can occur in private online spaces.
Why I am updating this
When information spreads quickly, it can:
- increase fear
- blur what is confirmed vs. unclear
- make the online world feel unsafe overall
That was never the intention.
The goal is awareness, not alarm.
What actually matters most
Across different reports and warnings, the real concern is consistent:
- grooming and manipulation of vulnerable youth
- emotional dependency built online
- secrecy and isolation from trusted adults
- escalation in private digital spaces
These behaviours can exist anywhere online, regardless of what they are called.
How we keep communication open in a disconnected world
Today, many homes and families are physically together—but mentally elsewhere:
headphones on, screens up, conversations reduced to messages.
That makes early communication harder, but not impossible.
Simple ways to rebuild connection
-
No-interrogation check-ins Instead of “What are you doing online?”, try:
“Anything online feel weird or stressful lately?”
-
Parallel time (not forced conversation) Sitting in the same room doing different things: reading, drawing, cooking, or scrolling — but together in presence
-
Headphone breaks Small, regular moments like:
- dinner without devices
- 10-minute “no headphones” walks
- morning coffee/tea check-ins
-
Normalize sharing weird online moments Adults sharing their own:
- scams they received
- strange messages
- things that made them uncomfortable online
-
Make it safe to say “this feels off” The goal is not perfect judgment — it is early sharing without fear
-
Ask curiosity-based questions Instead of control:
“What apps are people using to talk these days?”
“What feels fun online right now?”
Reflective questions
These are not easy questions — but they matter.
- Do the young people in my life feel safer talking to me about online experiences than they do hiding them?
- When was the last time I had an uninterrupted conversation with someone in my household?
- Have we replaced conversation with “co-existence in silence”? If so, what changed?
- If something online made a child uncomfortable, would they feel safe telling me immediately? Why or why not?
- Are we more focused on monitoring behaviour than building trust?
- What does “connection” actually look like in a household where everyone is physically present but digitally separate?
- If I had to rebuild trust from scratch, what would I change first—rules, or communication style?
Hard question:
- If harm begins in private digital spaces, how do we make honesty feel safer than secrecy?
Final thought
Online safety is not only about monitoring risk.
It is about rebuilding communication in a world where attention is constantly pulled away.
The strongest protection is still simple:
A person who feels safe telling the truth early.
#OnlineSafety #ProtectOurKids #CyberSafety #YouthProtection #InternetSafety #RCMP #WestShoreBC #SongheesNation #DigitalWellbeing #StopOnlineGrooming
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