Social media has fundamentally changed how children communicate, build relationships, and experience the world. It has also transformed how offenders exploit young people, how dangerous trends spread, and how schools, law enforcement, and community organizations respond to incidents.
This presentation provides professionals with an up-to-date look at the rapidly evolving digital landscape impacting today's youth. Drawing on nearly two decades of law enforcement experience, including 15 years as a School Resource Officer, Officer Gomez examines current social media platforms, AI-generated content, sextortion, online grooming, cyberbullying, digital evidence, school-device misuse, youth drug trends fueled through social media, and emerging technologies that are changing investigations and prevention efforts.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify Emerging Digital Threats
Participants will be able to identify current and emerging technology and social media threats affecting youth, including sextortion, online grooming, AI-generated content, cyberbullying, and dangerous online trends. - Recognize Online Exploitation and Risk Behaviors
Participants will recognize common tactics used by offenders to target, manipulate, groom, and exploit young people through social media, gaming platforms, messaging applications, and other digital environments. - Examine the Connection Between Social Media and Youth Behavior
Participants will examine how social media influences youth behavior, including drug and vaping trends, peer pressure, location sharing, inappropriate content, school-device misuse, and other high-risk activities.
