[TEENS] I shouldn't go off-site with other users because...

Predators look for vulnerabilities in people. Some are quite good at genuinely coming across as trustworthy. A site such as this is a good place for them to seek out people, just due to the nature of the purpose.

When staying within 7cups, the damage they can do is minimal and the 7cups admin team and other volunteers are able to take action against someone who has harmful intentions.

Offsite, the dangers are greater especially if they learn more about one's location, identity, and friends and family. There is nothing admins can do to help when issues come up outside 7cups.

@Heather225 because 7cups does not want to lose thir "clients". Receiving an email does not mean accessing it. Teens are mature enough to judge for themselves or ask for help if not or report or use the site tools. As long as you do not allow one-on-one interraction between members on the site, people and teens are prone to listener attacks since they are the only ones allowed to privately take contact.

Before teens entered 7cups they are already active on at least 5 social media already so what you are preaching is just keeping the customers inside 7cups. They already know abput online safety by now. Before discovering 7cups, they discovered plenty of other social media and either they learned to protect themselves or learned by mistakes. Noone is a net virgin just accessing 7cups, so please act more mature yourself and think about it...

One thing is safety and another is brainwashing teens to remain stuck on this site as your clients...they already know how to defend themselves (news!)

The only way you can compete with other social media with teens is allowing one-on-one conversations between members (under tge same safety 7cups rules) but if they can talk to each other as confident friends they no longer need to share or give emails...Did you ever think about that?

@Heather225

I shouldn't go off-site with other users because... they could be lying. They might also be preying on people here. What could be better than a lot of really vulnerable potential victims? They could also be trolls and wasting your time. We may never know...

Because they might be lying. Because human trafficking is still a thing. Because people behind the computer screen may not be who they appear to be.

Because the safety of all parties, including those people that are not on 7cups but are related to the parties involved, is pretty important.

This site is intended to be an anonymous peer support site. By coming here, users are presumably already aware of the fact that they will not be entitled to the personal information of others... Not that will reveal their identity anyway. Unlike an above comment implies, members can connect and talk to each other one on one. Maybe it's different for teens, but I assume that because even as an adult, I am often bombarded by situations and requests that would be difficult to navigate privately, especially if you are already struggling with personal issues that brought you here in the first place.

There are plenty of ways to get to know people and share lives with others on this website.

As for social media comparisons, I've never looked at 7cups as intended to be part of one's social media connection websites. It's a mental health and wellness resource, not a place to play games and post memes. There are plenty of social media website available for straight up socializing, and this doesn't have to compete because it's not in the same vein of websites anyway. People come here to gain perspective, explore their needs, find people who can discuss things without judgment, and feel safe in doing so. If they could find that on Facebook or Twitter, they probably wouldn't have come to 7 Cups at all.

A person can absolutely choose to find support groups on Facebook and the like if they want and are comfortable with their identity being part of the discussion, but most of us on here felt a certain level of secrecy was necessary. Opening up those connection doors is not just about your safety... It is about the safety of everyone who uses the site.

Much like in domestic violence rescue shelters... You make a commitment to keeping yourself and everyone in the home safe, part of which requires you to not reveal the location or who is currently in the facility. I look at this the same way. It is not a problem, in my eyes, for 7 Cups to have a specific and specialized approach. I figure, if you don't like the provision of resources here, there are other resources out there!

Anyway, this is my addition to the conversation lol I blab a lot but I've been around for a long time now, and my experience tells me that there is much reason to be reserved on here. Even as a listener, I have to walk carefully and use the website wisely.

@Heather225 What harm could giving someone your Facebook name?

Well I have heard of this happening. I found this on a legal aid site.

"Someone Is Trying To Blackmail Me For Money, Need Help

Hi there is someone who is trying to blackmail me for money because of a sex act on webcam. They are threatening to post the video to my Facebook contacts and youtube if I dont send them money. I have blocked them from my Facebook account but they may already have the contacts. They are expecting money today.

What should I do - need help urgently. They gave me détails for the money transfer."