In developed countries, internet is quickly becoming a major part in our modern society and has been a source of many positive things; but in no means does internet avoid any negative side effects. Because it is such a new aspect in society we do not understand how to control or prevent these negative things from happening. Human trafficking continues to be flourishing in our modern society and internet only serves as an accessible outlet for it’s growth. Human trafficking has earned the title “Modern Day Slavery”, and rightly so. Homeland Security defines human trafficking as “modern-day slavery involving the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act” (What is Human). Human trafficking is a major issue among young girls and women because of the emotional manipulation and promise from traffickers. They coerce their victims with a promise of a better life and financial solace. In today’s internet driven society, we allow easy access to the buying and selling of women and children in the human trafficking industries. An already “underground” trade, the uncontrolled environment of the internet allows for ease of access of supply and demand in the industry. 

The argument stands: is the internet enabling trafficking or a possible resolution for detecting buyers and sellers to put an end to the growing issue?

With internet, comes the new forms of media reaching people; the media plays an important role in this issue of sex trafficking. Internet media has opened a whole new window for advertisements to reach consumers, therefore making it easier for those seeking out trafficking victims to find supply outlets. But because these advertisements are so public, investigators have access to who interacts with these ads and can easily create fake advertisements to rope in suspects and help locate victims: So do online advertisements influence the growth of human trafficking or serve as a possible solution to stopping online human trafficking?

Of course, not all traffickers can be stopped simply by baiting with advertisements and through investigation of such sites.

Media portrayal of human trafficking has shaped society’s concept of the issue. In many cases, such as movies or television shows, the victims of human trafficking are depicted as being chained or locked in a room with no escape, but that is not the truth of how majority of cases are: what the media doesn’t portray to us is the emotional and mental ties victims have to their traffickers and their personal drive to remain in the business (Baker). For example, some families that struggle financially depend on the business trafficking brings: therefore, some families will sell their own children into the business by means of survival and victims won’t feel as though the have any right to leave the trade. But the media steers away from painting victims in this way; they’re solely helpless “victims” who fell into the trade by accident. In other cases, the young individuals that have fallen victim by their own emotional and mental coercion choose not to leave or report traffickers out of fear not only of the repercussions of turning on their trafficker, but fear of law enforcement punishing victims as criminals. In these ways, victims aren’t physically “chained” or “trapped” by traffickers, but emotionally and mentally unable to escape the trade. The media depicts law enforcement as heroes and victims as caged animals, but it’s mostly for entertainment and shock factor. With the media spreading this idea of human trafficking then the public won’t recognize the signs of true victims and in turn keep them trapped in the dangerous trade. 

As well as fictional media, the media’s coverage of sex trafficking “news” is more so for entertainment than education. Articles rarely suggested what can be done to help stop sex trafficking (Johnston). They may highlight the events and experience of the victims and paint the law enforcement as heroes, but they don’t educate the public on how we can help avoid more people from falling victim. With the use of modern internet if we could spread the signs and educate young children rather than appeal to the “shock factor” of media coverage. 
