Social media and the internet at large have a unique and troubling relationship with human trafficking. Social media has not only increased access for trafficking, through recruitment, the distribution of pornographic material involving sex trafficking, and the sale of goods produced through labor trafficking, but also increased the overall demand for trafficking. This expanded accessibility and demand is growing exponentially more each year, placing more vulnerable people at risk and increasing opportunities for exploitation.
When discussing human trafficking, we generally identify three essential elements: a vulnerable person, an exploiter, and a demand for exploitation. For trafficking to occur, there is typically a victim with a vulnerability that can be manipulated, an exploiter who is willing to take advantage of that vulnerability, and a demand for a product or service that can be gained through exploitation.
Sadly, there is no way to fully eliminate any one of these elements. Until Christ returns, there will always be vulnerable people, those willing to exploit them, and a demand for commercial sex or exploitative labor. However, we can help prevent and reduce trafficking by educating ourselves, learning who is vulnerable, understanding tactics used by exploiters, and recognizing the demand.
Through education, we can intervene before individuals are trafficked, identify exploitation when it occurs, and ensure we do not contribute to the demand. By reducing even one of these elements, we can lessen the overall prevalence of human trafficking in our community.
Because social media contributes to all three of these elements, it plays a significant role in furthering human trafficking. In this article, we will examine developments in social media over the past year that have contributed to alarming increases in trafficking.
Vulnerable Person
The first element of human trafficking is a vulnerable person. If an individual who becomes a victim of trafficking did not have a vulnerability that could be exploited, trafficking would likely not occur. Vulnerability often marks the beginning of the slippery slope that leads to exploitation.
Traditionally, vulnerability has been understood in terms of high-risk populations. Individuals considered highly vulnerable to trafficking have included those struggling with mental illness, substance use, disabilities, or abuse or neglect; those in foster care or group homes; and individuals from marginalized communities. However, with the rise of social media, the vulnerable population has expanded beyond what was previously considered high risk.
‘Commodified sexual experiences’ is a term coined by Thorn, an organization that combats child sexual exploitation in the United States. According to Thorn, commodified sexual experiences involve the exchange of items, both monetary and non-monetary, for sexual interactions or sexual content that involves a minor. Alarmingly, as many as 1 in 7 minors report engaging in a form of transactional sexual experience before the age of 18.
Thorn states that “prevention education must speak clearly about commodified sexual interactions involving minors, including both monetary and non-monetary (such as social opportunities or online influence), beyond historical depictions of ‘high-risk’ youth.” This statement reflects the growing reality that vulnerability is no longer limited to traditionally identified groups but now includes a much broader population of young people online.
Supporting this expansion of vulnerability, research indicates that the average age of exploitation has decreased with increased social media use. In 2025, “1 in 4 nine-to-twelve-year-olds reported having an online sexual interaction with someone they believed to be an adult.” Minors on social media are vulnerable due to ongoing brain development and an inability to recognize manipulative or exploitative behaviors. As a result, many minors engage in commodified sexual experiences each year.
It’s also important to note that youth are not just exchanging money for online sexual content and interactions. It has become more and more common for them to exchange a variety of items of real or perceived value, which has also contributed to a broader vulnerable population. While financial exchange is common, exploitation may also occur through social, emotional, or material incentives. “Among respondents who indicated they had a commodified sexual interaction as a minor, more than half (58%) indicated they received money as part of the exchange for sexual content or activity. Other prominent forms of exchange included social opportunities (e.g., more online followers or invites to parties) (33%) and clothing, accessories, or beauty products (28%). Additionally, 1 in 6 (17%) reported receiving drugs or alcohol, and around 1 in 10 indicated they received a place to stay or housing (11%) and/or gaming currency (e.g., Robux, V-Bucks, Minecoins) (9%).”
The desire for online currency and digital status has increasingly been used as a means of exploitation. Gaming platforms, especially those with open chat capabilities, have emerged as environments where trafficking can occur. For example, there have been numerous cases of trafficking linked to Roblox, an online gaming platform with a core user base under the age of 13. The link between trafficking cases and online forums like this highlight how easily vulnerability can be identified and exploited in online spaces.
Exploiter
The second element of human trafficking is the exploiter. Exploiters advance the slippery slope of trafficking by grooming and recruiting vulnerable individuals, often through a gradual process of desensitization. When we understand the tactics used by exploiters, we are better equipped to recognize those who are being trafficked and to intervene for individuals who may be headed down the slope towards exploitation.
Each year, as social media and technology continue to expand, the tactics of exploiters also evolve. To effectively address human trafficking, we must remain committed to educating ourselves on these changes so we can respond with greater awareness and compassion.
One significant development in recent years is the increased use of artificial intelligence (AI) in human trafficking. Last year, we discussed the role AI plays in trafficking, particularly in relation to self-generated child sexual abuse material (click here to read that post). This material refers to pornographic photos or videos that a minor willingly takes of themselves and sends to others online. Reports indicate that such content has then been uploaded into generative AI systems to create new pornographic material that appears authentic. Additionally, AI has expanded to generate pornographic content based solely on fully clothed images. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there has been a 6,343% increase in exploitation involving generative AI in the past year.
Social media has also made it easier for exploiters to identify an individual’s vulnerabilities and engage in grooming. Because of the nature of these platforms, exploiters can observe what someone posts, comments on, interacts with, and who they follow. In fact, “AI systems can also be used to automate and scale grooming of potential victims via chatbots optimizing manipulation tactics through natural language processing and sentiment analysis. This represents a dangerous advancement where traffickers use automated systems to help identify and trap victims at an unprecedented scale” (2025 Trafficking in Persons Report). These developments make the process of identifying vulnerability and implementing grooming tactics exponentially easier for exploiters.
AI is also being used to conceal the identities of both exploiters and victims. Traffickers may use generative AI to appear more childlike when communicating with children or to impersonate trusted individuals to the victim’s friends and family.
Exploiters have also used social media to make requests of minors that blur the line between what may seem permissible and what is clearly exploitative. Non-explicit, commodified solicitations are often used as a means of desensitization. According to Thorn, “1 in 5 young people have received a commodified solicitation for non-explicit imagery of themselves as minors. The most common requests reported were for imagery of a specific body part, such as feet (59%); performing everyday activities like eating or sleeping (40%); and engaging in athletic activities, such as exercising, dancing, or playing sports (37%).” These types of requests can make it more difficult for a minor to recognize when boundaries are being crossed.
Together, these technological advancements have made it easier for exploiters to carry out their role in perpetuating the crime of human trafficking.
Demand
The final contributing element of human trafficking is demand. Without a demand for commercial sex or exploitative labor, human trafficking would not exist. By examining the increasing rates of exploitation, we can see that demand for human trafficking (to fill the demand for commercial sexual activity) is also rising.
In 2025, the following increases were reported:
- Financial sextortion increased by 70%
- Online enticement increased by 77%
- Child sex trafficking reports increased by 952% (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
This growing demand is increasingly occurring online. Social media has expanded the accessibility of human trafficking by making it easier to engage. When demand exists online, vulnerable individuals can be targeted from any location, at any moment, increasing their risk of becoming victims of human trafficking. As reported, “One in 3 (36%) young people reported they had received a solicitation to send sexual imagery of themselves from an online-only contact while they were under the age of 18. Most (79%) of these solicitations were received within a week or less of connecting with the other user.”
The sobering truth is that social media and the internet have decreased the barriers that previously slowed trafficking. Now with an abundance of accessibility, demand is increasing rapidly for human trafficking.
Conclusion
Social media and the internet continue to expand each year, and human trafficking has expanded alongside them. These platforms increase the number of individuals vulnerable to exploitation while reducing barriers between them and the wrong people. Exploiters have leveraged this growth to their advantage, significantly reducing the effort required for grooming, desensitization, and recruitment within the trafficking process. These factors have created a system of constant accessibility and escalating demand, allowing human trafficking to multiply rapidly.
Yet, when we reach the vulnerable, confront the exploiter, and challenge those contributing to demand with the redeeming love of Christ, we can hold onto hope for true and lasting transformation amid trafficking.
To learn more about RAHAB’s Minor Mentoring Program for youth who have experienced trafficking, or if you know a teenager in Northeast Ohio who has been trafficked and would like to see if they would qualify for RAHAB’s programming, please click here.
Bibliography
“Commodified Sexual Interactions Involving Minors: Evolving Dynamics in Technology-Facilitated Child Sexual Exploitation.” Thorn with Burson Insights, Data & Intelligence, Apr. 2025.
Davis, Patricia. “Spike in Online Crimes against Children a ‘Wake-up Call.’” National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 9 Apr. 2025, www.missingkids.org/blog/2025/spike-in-online-crimes-against-children-a-wake-up-call.
“Youth Perspectives on Online Safety, 2024: An Annual Report of Youth Attitudes and Experiences.” Thorn/BSG, Sept. 2025.
“2025 Trafficking in Persons Report.” U.S. Department of State, 2025, www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/