Digital horror is growing unchecked in Argentina. Sexual crimes against children and adolescents in virtual environments exploded by 73.7% in just twelve months. This was confirmed by the National Ministry of Security, which recorded a jump from 848 victims in 2024 to 1,476 in 2025. A chilling figure that puts entire families on edge.
The crime map shows well-defined hotspots. Jujuy is the province where the increase was most brutal: it went from 17 cases to 112, a 558% rise. It is followed by the City of Buenos Aires, which climbed from 56 to 190 victims. But Mendoza concentrates the highest absolute number: 247 cases in 2024 and 610 in 2025. Chilling details that the report does not break down: the Security portfolio did not respond to queries about which types of cybercrimes grew the most.
Specialists have no doubt: grooming and digital coercion are the main scourges. Tomás Vaccarezza, a Buenos Aires prosecutor specialized in computer crimes, warns: «There are more and more pedophiles taking advantage of game chats like Roblox and social networks like Instagram or TikTok to contact minors.» Hernán Navarro, founder of Grooming Argentina, adds that aggressors no longer need physical contact: «They exercise digital captivity, forcing victims to produce their own abuse material.»
Why is this problem exploding? Navarro lists key factors: hyperconnectivity (children spend seven hours a day on devices), early start (four out of ten have their own cell phone before age 9), and lack of adult supervision. «If you give a child a cell phone without control, you are digitally emancipating them,» he fires. He also criticizes the absence of public policies for comprehensive digital education, similar to ESI, and the responsibility of technology companies that do not guarantee safety on their platforms.
The justice system is beginning to move. In April, a Buenos Aires court convicted a man for sexual abuse without physical contact, a ruling that Navarro celebrates: «The digital world is the real world, the damage impacts just the same.» But the battle is uphill. Abuse content never disappears from the deep web, and victims carry irreparable damage.
What can parents do? Specialists recommend parental control, but above all dialogue. «Ask your child how their day on the internet went,» suggests Navarro. Banning the cell phone only makes the problem invisible. They also warn about warning signs: behavioral changes, secrecy, irritability, or digital gifts from strangers.
In the event of a possible crime, the child should be supported and the crime reported. In Buenos Aires City, the Specialized Fiscal Unit can be reached at 0800-3334-7225 or denuncias@fiscalias.gob.ar. In the rest of the country, go to the nearest prosecutor’s office. There is also the Grooming Argentina app. The fight is urgent: digital predators are no longer on the corner; they are on the screen.
Para mí esto es una invasión cultural y moral. Los inmigrantes y zurdos están violando a nuestros pibes en las redes, ¡73% más! Me parece que hay que cerrar ya Roblox, Instagram y TikTok, o meter presos a los dueños. Los gobiernos de mierda de Jujuy, CABA y Mendoza no hacen nada. ¡Ley y orden o nos cagamos en todo!
para mí esto es claramente el patriarcado capitalista usando a Roblox, Instagram y TikTok para sexualizar a lxs pibxs, y el Estado es cómplice mirando para otro lado mientras las víctimas crecen un 73%. yo creo que hay que regular YA con perspectiva de género y anticapitalista, estos números son el resultado de un sistema que empuja a lxs pibxs a ser víctimas, ¡despierten caretas!