According to what I found out in my research for LIS406, publicized statistics show that 1 in 5 children are approached online by a sexual predator. This is the number that gets thrown around constantly by those who want to scare parents about social networking sites. Where does this number come from, and what does it mean?
Thanks to Benjamin Radford, I found that this stat originated in 2001 (red flag--6 years ago), when the Department of Justice conducted a report surveying teens about sexual solicitation online. The results were as follows:
- Almost one in five (19 percent) of the young Internet users surveyed received an unwanted sexual solicitation in the past year. Okay, that's bad, but break down that number a little further and you discover that...
- Five percent of the surveyed youth received a distressing sexual solicitation (i.e., the solicitation made them feel very or extremely upset or afraid).
- Three percent of the youth received an aggressive solicitation involving offline contact or attempts or requests for offline contact.
- None of the solicitations led to an actual sexual contact or assault.
- Adults (age 18 and older) made 24 percent of all solicitations and 34 percent of aggressive solicitations.
- Juveniles made 48 percent of all solicitations and 48 percent of aggressive solicitations.
In other positive news, I found the following news item via Scott McLeod's blog:
Children less likely to encounter online predators
In contrast, 32% of teenagers who use the internet say that they have been the target of cyberbullying—"a range of annoying and potentially menacing online activities, such as receiving threatening messages; having their private emails or text messages forwarded without consent; having an embarrassing picture posted without permission; or having rumors about them spread online" (Social Networking Websites and Teens: An Overview. Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2007).
To me, this is the scarier issue. The web makes it easier to bully because it's easier to be anonymous. Bullying is an issue IRL, for sure, but parents and educators most likely have no idea when cyberbullying is happening. Are we teaching kids how to handle this? Are we talking to parents about it in the same way that we scare the crap out of them with all this sexual predator talk? Ultimately, the topic is brought up as a reason to block kids' internet access or take away their ability to use social networking sites. Which does nothing--they just use a proxy and hop right back on there, unarmed with any knowledge of what to do if they DO get solicited or bullied.
3 comments:
You are right on many levels... The stats are old; cyberbullying is a bigger problem; blocking does nothing... that is why parents need to actively monitor their child's Internet usage. Whether it be the ill-intending adults posing as kids, or the more common cyberbullying (whether your child is the victim or the instigator), parents need to know. The Internet has opened a door to the world. Kids are more familiar with that door and how it operates than their parents, BUT they are NOT more familiar with social interaction (ironic since they are called social networking sites) and human ethics. They are careless and dangerous when not watched. I use (and always recommend to friends) PC Pandora on my computer. It's pretty good and has helped a lot. Whether you go for that one or any other of the number of ones out there, get something. Respect their privacy, but know what they are doing.
shady, from a parent's perspective, you may be right, but from a librarian, it's not my job to spy on them--just to educate them and help them use the internet safely. however, what parents teach their kids or what tools they use to protect their kids is their own business!
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