Fears of Internet predators unfounded, study finds

This article should serve as a reality check for those who are paranoid about children being on the Internet. I believe children are actually safer using the Internet than going to the mall as this article points out.


By Frank Greve | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — A lot of parental worries about Internet sex predators are unjustified, according to new research by a leading center that studies crimes against children.

"There's been some overreaction to the new technology, especially when it comes to the danger that strangers represent," said Janis Wolak, a sociologist at the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

"Actually, Internet-related sex crimes are a pretty small proportion of sex crimes that adolescents suffer," Wolak added, based on three nationwide surveys conducted by the center.

Two of the surveys contacted 3,000 Internet users aged 10-17 in 2000 and again in 2005. The third sums up findings from 612 interviews with investigators at a nationally representative sample of agencies that deal with Internet sex crimes involving children.

In an article titled "Online 'Predators' and Their Victims," which appears Tuesday in American Psychologist, the journal of the American Psychological Association, Wolak and co-researchers examined several fears that they concluded are myths:

Internet predators are driving up child sex crime rates.

Finding: Sex assaults on teens fell 52 percent from 1993 to 2005, according to the Justice Department's National Crime Victimization Survey, the best measure of U.S. crime trends. "The Internet may not be as risky as a lot of other things that parents do without concern, such as driving kids to the mall and leaving them there for two hours," Wolak said.

Internet predators are pedophiles.

Finding: Internet predators don't hit on the prepubescent children whom pedophiles target. They target adolescents, who have more access to computers, more privacy and more interest in sex and romance, Wolak's team determined from interviews with investigators.

Internet predators represent a new dimension of child sexual abuse.

Finding: The means of communication is new, according to Wolak, but most Internet-linked offenses are essentially statutory rape: nonforcible sex crimes against minors too young to consent to sexual relationships with adults.

Internet predators trick or abduct their victims.

Finding: Most victims meet online offenders face-to-face and go to those meetings expecting to engage in sex. Nearly three-quarters have sex with partners they met on the Internet more than once.

Internet predators meet their victims by posing online as other teens.

Finding: Only 5 percent of predators did that, according to the survey of investigators.

Online interactions with strangers are risky.

Finding: Many teens interact online all the time with people they don't know. What's risky, according to Wolak, is giving out names, phone numbers and pictures to strangers and talking online with them about sex.

Internet predators go after any child.

Finding: Usually their targets are adolescent girls or adolescent boys of uncertain sexual orientation, according to Wolak. Youths with histories of sexual abuse, sexual orientation concerns and patterns of off- and online risk-taking are especially at risk.

 

Yes, and that will lull parents into a false sense of security. Since the WWW arrived on the scene, sexual attacks on teens has DECREASED 52% as the article says. You can THANK the Internet for that! By allowing teens to interact without physically meeting up, you DECREASE the chances of child abuse.

What parents need to worry about is when KIDS GO OUTSIDE to meet people. That is where GOOD parenting comes in.

Kids should always tell parents where they're going, who they're meeting. Some parents can track kids via their cellphones.

So your kid at home on his/her computer ISN'T really at risk. It's when they leave the safety of home that you need to worry.

It's the same situation it has ALWAYS BEEN. Nothing has changed. Teach your children well and you'll have no problems. IGNORE your kids and watch them shoot up their school one day. It's UP TO PARENTS to monitor their kids, not software! Take responsibility and stop blaming the INTERNET, cause it's not the problem, nor are sites like this!

 

Uh, I would say talk about the dangers of HUMANITY, period. Again it's all up to the PARENTS to do their job well. If they don't then their kids will be influenced and led by others.

What medium it occurs in IS IRRELEVANT.

It's like blaming the phone company when a terrorist sets off a bomb via a cellphone.

The other thing is ppl think kids on the internet exist in some kind of vacuum.

Like there's no RULES posted anywhere.
Like there's no LAWS being enforced everyday.
Like there's no PEOPLE/MODS watching.
Like Kids have never seen this shit before.
Like Kids have never been warned, ever.

Get real folks. Blame the parents, not the Internet if something happens to their kids.

And again, you can spend a LOT of time worrying about Child Molesters on the Internet, OR you can START worrying about all the PARENTS WHO ABUSE THEIR OWN CHILDREN, who escape punishment because there is NOBODY WATCHING behind closed doors.

At least on the Internet there are a LOT of ppl watching. And all interactions are recorded in many places: ISP, webhost, users computers (predator and victim), FBI & NSA black boxes etc.

One thing many predators have in common...
They abuse THEIR OWN CHILDREN too.

Why isn't THAT a cause celebre? Why aren't the COPS going into ppls homes and spying on parents and children interacting?

Oh, wait, you mean there are STILL some privacy laws left?

If ppl are really concerned about Child Abuse they should Stop it where it begins... AT HOME! Ignoring a child and NOT teaching them about the world is Child abuse too!

The hysteria and hype over Internet child abuse is just another convenient political excuse to invade EVERYONE'S privacy

One more thing, before ppl forget...

KIDS HAVE FREE SPEECH TOO!

And this is one site that strives to protect that freedom from those who would censor and repress young voices.

 

Here's a reprint of tips for parents from another thread. Source: Microsoft.

Do these things, and you probably won't ever have to worry about your kids online behavior. Notice it DOESN'T say to buy security software. Not only is this shit common sense, but it applies beyond the Internet too. As I said good parenting is about teaching your kids about LIFE, not just the Internet.

The same advice about dealing with "strangers" applies to the Internet and Life equally.

1.Encourage your kids to share their Internet experiences with you. Enjoy the Internet along with your children.

2.Teach your kids to trust their instincts. If they feel nervous about anything online, they should tell you about it.

3.If your kids visit chat rooms, use instant messaging (IM) programs, online video games, or other activities on the Internet that require a login name to identify themselves, help them choose that name and make sure it doesn't reveal any personal information about them.

4.Insist that your kids never give out your address, phone number, or other personal information, including where they go to school or where they like to play.

5.Teach your kids that the difference between right and wrong is the same on the Internet as it is in real life.

6.Show your kids how to respect others online. Make sure they know that rules for good behavior don't change just because they're on a computer.

7.Insist that your kids respect the property of others online. Explain that making illegal copies of other people's work—music, video games, and other programs—is just like stealing it from a store.

8.Tell your kids that they should never meet online friends in person. Explain that online friends may not be who they say they are.

9.Teach your kids that not everything they read or see online is true. Encourage them to ask you if they're not sure.

 

I'd just shorten that to the "dangers of people." That's my point. Whether you meet them on the Internet, on the street, in school, on the phone, at the mall, wherever, it doesn't matter cause the danger is the same, or perhaps worse when you meet someone in person.

Indeed a parent does a GREAT disservice to a child by inferring that the "bad people" are all online predators. That's why it's NOT a good idea to single out the Internet anymore than the telephone.

One thing that article mentions and other studies are finding out are that certain children are PREDISPOSED to illogical risk-taking. And that is perhaps a much bigger determinant of them getting into trouble than anything else.

So perhaps such children need to be identified and special attention given to them. Don't just TEACH them the dangers, cause that won't stop the risk-taking, but perhaps an intervention is necessary or a diversion into "safe" risk-taking activities.

And once those hormones kick-in, there's little ANY parent can do but pray they've taught their kids well...

 

Gee Rah you must be a legal eagle. Yet you're all wrong about children and free speech. The courts have mostly upheld the rights of children to free speech, even in school. There is NO AGE restriction on free speech rights in America, unless there's a secret law I don't know about. Please show me the law limiting the free speech of minors.

Here's something from the American Library Association that puts this in perspective, and highlights the reasons why we allow children on this website. Note: they clearly state that ONLY parents have the right to censor what their children access, not the law.

Free Access to Libraries for Minors

An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights

[size=-1]Library policies and procedures that effectively deny minors equal and equitable access to all library resources available to other users violate the Library Bill of Rights. The American Library Association opposes all attempts to restrict access to library services, materials, and facilities based on the age of library users.[/size]

[size=-1]Article V of the Library Bill of Rights states, "A person's right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views." The "right to use a library" includes free access to, and unrestricted use of, all the services, materials, and facilities the library has to offer. Every restriction on access to, and use of, library resources, based solely on the chronological age, educational level, literacy skills, or legal emancipation of users violates Article V.[/size]

[size=-1]Libraries are charged with the mission of developing resources to meet the diverse information needs and interests of the communities they serve. Services, materials, and facilities that fulfill the needs and interests of library users at different stages in their personal development are a necessary part of library resources. The needs and interests of each library user, and resources appropriate to meet those needs and interests, must be determined on an individual basis. Librarians cannot predict what resources will best fulfill the needs and interests of any individual user based on a single criterion such as chronological age, educational level, literacy skills, or legal emancipation.[/size]

[size=-1]Libraries should not limit the selection and development of library resources simply because minors will have access to them. Institutional self-censorship diminishes the credibility of the library in the community, and restricts access for all library users.[/size]

[size=-1]Children and young adults unquestionably possess First Amendment rights, including the right to receive information in the library. Constitutionally protected speech cannot be suppressed solely to protect children or young adults from ideas or images a legislative body believes to be unsuitable for them.1 Librarians and library governing bodies should not resort to age restrictions in an effort to avoid actual or anticipated objections, because only a court of law can determine whether material is not constitutionally protected.[/size]

[size=-1]The mission, goals, and objectives of libraries cannot authorize librarians or library governing bodies to assume, abrogate, or overrule the rights and responsibilities of parents. As "Libraries: An American Value" states, "We affirm the responsibility and the right of all parents and guardians to guide their own children's use of the library and its resources and services." Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources. Parents who do not want their children to have access to certain library services, materials, or facilities should so advise their children. Librarians and library governing bodies cannot assume the role of parents or the functions of parental authority in the private relationship between parent and child.[/size]

[size=-1]Lack of access to information can be harmful to minors. Librarians and library governing bodies have a public and professional obligation to ensure that all members of the community they serve have free, equal, and equitable access to the entire range of library resources regardless of content, approach, format, or amount of detail. This principle of library service applies equally to all users, minors as well as adults. Librarians and library governing bodies must uphold this principle in order to provide adequate and effective service to minors.[/size]

[size=-1]1See Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville, 422 U.S. 205 (1975)-"Speech that is neither obscene as to youths nor subject to some other legitimate proscription cannot be suppressed solely to protect the young from ideas or images that a legislative body thinks unsuitable [422 U.S. 205, 214] for them. In most circumstances, the values protected by the First Amendment are no less applicable when government seeks to control the flow of information to minors. See Tinker v. Des Moines School Dist., supra. Cf. West Virginia Bd. of Ed. v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)."[/size]