In many ways, Roo Powell is just like most moms—except when the Connecticut woman poses as a teenage girl online to help identify and catch sexual predators. It’s no secret that the internet is a dangerous place. Kids can run into predators in online chatrooms or even on social media, and, according to Fox News, Powell feels strongly about the need to fight back against these predators and help create a safer environment for all children and teams.
Powell is the founder of the nonprofit Safe from Online Sex Abuse (SOSA), that offers support to those who have experienced abuse and builds awareness about online dangers for kids. Her efforts are featured in a new discovery+ docuseries “Undercover Underage.”
Keeping Kids Safe Online
There are two sides to keeping our kids safe online: fighting back against predators and trying to make the internet a safer place like Powell does, and teaching our kids internet safety to make them less vulnerable to online abuse. This includes making sure they understand online risks, helping them feel comfortable coming to parents and other trusted adults with any questions or concerns, and setting up safeguards to keep them out of harm’s way.
Troomi makes it easy to create a safeguarded phone experience for kids and teens by allowing safelisted contacts, email addresses, and web domains (no one outside the safelist will be able to contact your child); not allowing any access to social media; and giving you the ability to add and subtract functionality and app access as your child matures.
Making a Difference
It can be a scary world out there, but we don’t have to stand by or resign ourselves to putting our children in danger. Powell asks that parents everywhere do whatever they can in their sphere to make the internet a safer space for kids, and she knows her own efforts make a difference—even though it can be taxing to spend so much time experiencing the dark side of the internet.
“It’s better if I go through it than an actual teenager, an actual child,” she said to Fox News.
Read more about Powell and her organization here.