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Missing Children SA says social networks play both a positive and negative part in the fight against child abductions.
It says some child abductors are using social media to lure young children.
The organisation says about 29 percent of reported missing children cases are that of runaways.
Missing SA's Judy Olivier says most of the children who run away are found with social media playing a vital role in tracking them down.
She says the best way to monitor your children's social network activities is to build a trusting relationship with them.
Olivier says parents also need to be clued up about which networks their children are involved in.