Coronavirus has taken a terrible toll on people’s lives and physical health. Less obvious are the serious and potentially long-lasting effects it is having on people’s mental health and wellbeing. After a year of lockdowns and restrictions, many people are desperately worried about their family and friends, or stressed about their jobs and incomes. Isolation has been particularly tough for young people, who are missing their classmates or struggling with remote learning, anxiety, poor sleep and loss of interest in anything. Technology has been invaluable in helping people to work, learn and stay in touch: but virtual relationships are not the complete answer.
A MAN who asked a 13-year-girl if he could video her in the shower was arrested after she turned out to be a police officer posing undercover. Calling himself Bolton Lad online, Ryan Griffiths, 24, even tried to persuade Lucy to ask her mum to drop her off in the town centre so they could meet in person. At Bolton Crown Court, Kathryn Johnson, prosecuting, said Griffiths began communicating with the officer on a website called Chat-Avenue on January 7 last year. The officer had adopted the username 13 in UK and made clear how old she was but Griffiths quickly asked her You into sex? Yay or nay?