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Risks Children Take
Online:
Frequency of Interaction with Strangers
By Nancy Taylor
Do you really know who your child is talking to online?
Most of us have Internet access. And most of us, as hard as
we may try, cannot police our children online as much as we
may like. If we warn them of the risks of talking to
strangers on the web, and impress upon them the danger of
meeting anyone they may have developed a relationship with
on the Internet, they are probably pretty safe, right?
Wrong.
A recent survey sponsored by the Polly Klaas Foundation
shows that a startling number of teenagers between the ages
of eight and eighteen have talked to strangers online, and
an equally shocking number have made arrangements to meet
the people they communicate with. With online correspondence
becoming easier and more commonplace, it is imperative that
parents understand the very real possibility that their
children may be engaging in potentially harmful
relationships with people they have never met.
The Pew Internet and American Life Project recently reported
that 87 percent of young people ages 12 to 17 (21 million)
use the Internet. Of these, more than half create web pages
or blogs that list personal information. Many of these
teenagers also post personal information on the web. This
puts children at risk to be targeted by predators who often
lie about their ages and personal information to lure
teenagers into meeting them.
Polly Klaas Foundation is a national non-profit organization
that helps find missing children and educate kids and their
parents in ways not to go missing in the first place. In
October 2005, a survey of 1,468 children ages 8 to 18 was
released by this organization. The study consisted of six
questions that teens answered in a national online
questionnaire. The survey, designed to gauge how teenagers
behave online and the risks they are willing to take,
produced some frightening results.
Potentially Risky Internet Behavior by Teens and Pre-teens
Frequency of Use
The vast majority of teens surveyed reported that they use
the internet and check email daily, most at least once a
day. The use of Instant Messaging (IM) is very commonplace,
and most teens reported frequent use of IM either from their
computers or cell phones, half of them do this daily.
Use of Chat rooms, blogs and online web journals are
becoming more prevalent as well. More than half of teens
admitted to spending time in chat rooms, and three-fourths
of teens have read blogs and online journals. Many teenagers
also admitted to using code words when parents come into the
room. Be aware of your child writing PIR (parent in room) or
exiting the page they are on quickly when you enter a room
where they are accessing the internet.
Teens are Frequently Asked Personal Questions Online by
Someone They Have Never Met.
We all tell our kids not to talk to strangers. For the most
part, we feel like they know this pretty well, and are safe.
But kids think they can trust the people they ‘get to know’
on the internet. One 15-year-old girl surveyed began
communicating intimately with a man she met online. They
shared feelings for each other and agreed to meet, until the
girl’s parents stepped in and convinced her to call the
meeting off. She later found out that the man was a
22-year-old who was actively courting a number of teenage
girls.
Frighteningly, more than half of teens reported that they
have been asked personal questions such as their sex, age
and location while online. Many of these kids answer these
questions. 34% of kids admitted to making arrangements to
meet people they had met online. These meetings can have
disastrous results! Remind your kids that people can pretend
to be anyone they want to be when online, and they should
not communicate with anyone they don’t know.
Girls are far more likely to engage in risky behavior online
than are boys. While all parents should be diligent when
policing kids online, parents of girls should be especially
mindful of the risks their daughters may be willing to take.
We must realize how frequently the topic of sex comes up in
the online encounters our teens have with strangers. At
least one fourth of kids have discussed sex with the people
they’ve met online, and an equal number of kids have
reported being sent to online porn sites by the people they
are communicating with. It is not uncommon for their online
‘friends’ to ask to meet them, and 27% of kids have done
that. Although these numbers do not represent the majority
of kids – three fourths of our children are not involved in
this sort of risky behavior - it is worrisome that so many
youths are willing to talk about sex and agree to meet with
people who they have never met. As parents we have to be
diligent in supervising our kids on the internet and be sure
to keep reminding them of the risks of meeting people who
‘seem so nice.’
There is no doubt that the internet is a wonderful tool for
all of us. There is a wealth of information online, and
there is no limit to what is available, from shopping to
homework help. The ability to communicate with others in one
of the most desirable things for kids, but as parents we
have to be mindful and realistic about the dangers our
children may encounter on the internet, and understand their
lack of savvy when engaging in online relationships. Without
diminishing the value of the internet, parents must stay
vigilant.
For more information, visit the Polly Klaas Foundation
online at
www.pollyklass.org or call 1-800-587-4357. For key
findings from this survey, visit
www.pollyklaas.org/internet-safety/. Mark Klaas is
not associated with the Polly Klaas Foundation.
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