Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Naqiuddin Dahamat Azam warned that exposure to such material would also have a lasting psychological impact on the viewer.
Naqiuddin, who lectures on developmental psychology, said the social media landscape has changed drastically in view of the “presence” of children aged between seven and 12.
He said that particular age group would be more inclined to believe adults they meet online, especially those who they deem “friendly”.
And teenagers who are embarking on a journey of self discovery are easily duped by praise and romantic promises as well as easily persuaded, he said.
Naqiuddin said factors such as loneliness, the absence of parental supervision, lacking digital literacy, curiosity also made teenagers vulnerable to subtle grooming.
“Groomers would build trust, manipulate emotions and finally force or dupe them into producing and sharing obscene content.
“And at that age they are unable to assess risk properly, which makes them a number one target for criminals,” he told FMT.
According to Naqiuddin, CSAM victims will suffer short-term psychological effects such as fear, guilt, and depression which could impact the development of their identity.
In the long run, it could impact how they socialise, he said.
“From a mental health perspective, the victims are likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, eating disorders and prone to high-risk behaviour such as harming themselves.
“Even more worrying, is when these (obscene) videos are circulated, victims would suffer from psychological abuse every time it is viewed or shared which does not help in the victim’s recovery.”
Naqiuddin said apart from supervising their children’s social media accounts and gadget usage, parents should also establish open communication with their children so they would be comfortable in talking about their experiences.
The Malaysia Cyber Consumer Association also said that parents and the community play a role in curbing the circulation of CSAM.
Its president, Siraj Jalil said that the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission’s internet safety campaign (KIS) would also be beneficial in increasing digital awareness among children.
“Our children need to be mindful as well as be able to differentiate between safe and dangerous social media usage.”
The communications ministry had earlier this month launched the KIS campaign aimed at creating public awareness and digital resilience in view of the growing online threats, including CSAM, cyberbullying, and online scams.
The two year campaign targets various segments of society, including children, teenagers, and senior citizens.
Siraj is of the view that the national digital education policy should be amended to include aspects of internet safety to help promote better literacy when it comes to internet usage.