It’s a world that isn’t necessarily well known to adults, and yet there are many sites that connect teenagers. Samuel Comblez, psychologist and co-director of the e-enfant association details the uses and risks linked to these platforms.
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Reading time: 6 min
While an expert report on the use of screens by children and adolescents was submitted to the government on Wednesday May 1, The True or False Junior looks at dating sites for adolescents. “Adotolerant”, “Lovesuit”, “Weshbien” or even “Roomco”… We exchange messages and photos. Romantic or friendly ties are formed there, without this necessarily leading to a physical meeting.
Samuel Comblez, psychologist and co-director of the e-enfant association, which raises awareness of cyberbullying, answers questions from students at the Mont-Sauvy colleges, in Bouches-du-Rhône and André Derain, in Yvelines.
Yes, dating sites for teenagers are very popular with boys
“I saw that on dating sites for young people, the majority of users are boys. Is this true?” Lana wonders.
“I can confirm what you say Lana, replies Samuel Fillez. Many boys go to these sites obviously hoping to find a soul mate, at least young girls or boys with whom they could fall in love. We often talk about dating sites with the idea of sexuality behind them, as for adults. There is not necessarily a meeting at stake. I think that teenagers who go to these sites are looking to try to promote themselves, to put themselves forward and to test their power of seduction.
These sites promise dating for teenagers but in reality they are often also open to young adults. Adults aged 25 can therefore potentially come into contact with children aged 13. However, according to the law, there cannot be consent in a relationship between a minor and an adult who are more than four years apart.
Yes, adults pretend to be teenagers
“Is it true that dating sites for teens are a problem because adults sign up pretending to be young people?” Mathis asks.
Indeed, it is very easy for an adult to fool a teenager, observes Samuel Comblez. Because these dating sites do not yet have a reliable system to verify the age and identity of their members: “The teenager, if he is not wary, will fall into the trap. This trap may be to obtain photos of a sexual nature and the idea of the person who poses as a teenager is to get more and more, sometimes to put pressure on the teenager, to blackmail him.
This is called sextortion. When we share images of ourselves, we must keep in mind that it can be misused, used against us, by adults but also by other teenagers.
Yes, meeting-ados.net has been the subject of numerous reports
“Is it true that the dating site for teenagers has been the subject of numerous reports?” Camille wonders.
It’s true, the Belgian site encounter-ados.net has been targeted by numerous reports. Nearly 500 pieces of illegal content were recorded this summer by Pharos, the website of the Ministry of the Interior. And in particular pedocriminal propositions made to minors registered on the site. Last August, the Minister for Digital Affairs announced that he had contacted the public prosecutor on this subject. It was parents, in particular, who raised the alarm.
“Is it true that predators lurk on coco.gg?”
Coco.gg is not a site for teenagers, it is, in theory, reserved for adults. But to access the discussion forum, all you have to do is enter your nickname, your postal code and your age, real or invented. There is no particular control. A space where predators intrude, as demonstrated by Stéphane Pair, journalist at franceinfo. “We opened an account for a Coco user who would have circumvented the 18-year-old ban. And overall, these are adults, men who contacted us and who did not hesitate to communicate with us even though we are a fifteen-year-old minor, to suggest that we discuss somewhat salacious things or even make proposals to us, to meet us physically.”
According to Stéphane Pair, several legal cases have implicated coco.gg and “have shown that on this site, there are exchanges which constitute crimes with pedophilia, sexual violence, indecent propositions, prostitution”.
There is also the risk of being the victim of an ambush. We think we are going on a romantic date agreed on the forum when it is a trap set by attackers.
A good reflex to have: keep a critical mind
To try to spot malicious users, Samuel Comblez, co-director of the e-enfance association, advises keeping a critical mind when interacting with someone on a dating site: “Critical thinking means simply listening to yourself, listening to your emotions. When someone offers us something and we are uncomfortable, when we find that there is something weird. To be able to keep a step aside from what is happening and at a moment, to be able to say no, to always keep in mind that behind a nickname there can be someone hiding. a malicious one, without being in a form of paranoia or alarmist attitude.”
And if you’re unsure about the intentions of someone you’re speaking with, you can ask them for a voice note to see if their voice matches their age. You can also ask other members of the site if they have heard of this nickname. Finally, know that there are also sometimes moderators who can tell you if a suspicious account has been spotted.