By Stephen Wallace, M.S. Ed.
Parents everywhere no doubt cringed at word that a 16-year-old
Michigan girl recently flew to the Middle East to meet a
25-year-old man she met on the social networking site Myspace.com. While
made more salacious by time (she was gone five days) and
distance (Jordan), the story mirrored many others highlighting
the dangers lurking in the shadows of the online world.
Free to all comers, forums such as Myspace, Facebook, Xanga, and Friendster provide
easy access to anyone searching for e-mail addresses, cell phone numbers, or
details about body type, sexual preferences, or alcoholic beverages of choice.
And the information flow doesn't stop there. A recent Dateline
NBC investigation
of teen pages found scenes of binge drinking, apparent drug use, and sex acts.
Law enforcement officials are so concerned that at least
two states, Connecticut and Massachusetts, are investigating
the link between these sites and incidents of sexual assault.
But they're not going it alone. The Federal Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) says that it has opened dozens of
cases nationwide regarding activity on the sites and has
received more than 500 complaints, including the following.
- Earlier this year, a 33-year-old Alabama man met a 14-year-old
girl from New Jersey over one site and later abused her
in Florida.
- In October 2005, a 13-year-old girl from Georgia, whose
online profile said she was 29, was abused by a 30-year-old
South Carolina man.
- Last September, an 11-year-old girl was fondled in her
Connecticut home – while her parents slept – by
a man she'd met through an online network and let
into her home.
But child predators aren't the only problem and adults
not the only perpetrators. Young people themselves often
use the Internet to taunt, criticize, harass, intimidate,
and gang up on each other. Like traditional bullying, cyberbullying
leaves many kids feeling unsafe, humiliated, angry … and
perhaps looking for revenge. Essex County, Massachusetts,
District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett told the Boston
Globe, "We've
seen an increase in assault crimes involving young people
as a result of the computer. They go on and ‘instant-message,' threatening
each other, and it becomes assault the next day."
Still other teens surf porn sites online. According to a
Teens Today study from SADD (Students Against Destructive
Decisions), more than one in four middle and high school
students (27 percent) say they have used the Internet to
view sexually explicit content.
So, what can parents do to keep their child safe? Wiredsafety.org
offers some tips.
- Keep the computer in a family room, kitchen, or living
room, not in your child's bedroom.
- Watch your children when they're online and see where
they go.
- Make sure that your children feel comfortable coming
to you with questions.
- Keep kids out of chatrooms unless they are monitored.
- Get to know their "online friends" just as
you get to know all of their other friends.
But parents can't go it alone. Just like in the real
world, young people have a responsibility to protect themselves
in the online world. i-SAFE America outlines for youth "The
4 Rs" of Internet safety.
1. Recognize techniques used by online predators
to deceive.
2. Refuse requests for personal information.
3. Respond assertively if you are ever in an
uncomfortable position online. Exit the program,
turn off the computer, tell a trusted friend,
or call the police.
4. Report any suspicious or dangerous contact
that makes you feel uncomfortable.
i-SAFE also advises teens to take these precautions.
- Protect your identifying information (name, sex, age,
address, school, teams). It takes only a little information
for a predator to identify you.
- Create a username and online profile that is generic
and anonymous.
- Know how to exit an inappropriate Web site.
- Guard your pictures. You never know who may be looking
at them.
- Keep in mind that chatroom "friends" are
not always whom they say they are.
For sure, the advent of the Internet – and more recently
of social networking sites – brought with it new opportunities
for the meaningful exchange of ideas and dialogue, better
connecting young people to the wider world beyond their front
door. Bringing light to its shadows will make that world
more predictable and less risky.
© Summit Communications Management Corporation
2006
All Rights Reserved
|
