Are Statistics of Internet Threats to Minors Overblown?

A recent report from Canada.com affirms that studies suggest threats against minors over the Internet are blown out of proportion. Here is what the report says:

CHICAGO - Worries that the Internet and social networking services like MySpace pose a threat to child safety may be overblown, a report by industry, academics and technology experts suggests.

The report, which will be released on Wednesday, suggests that the biggest threats to children’s safety online may come from other children, and that their own behavior could contribute to the trouble they encounter.

“Minors are not equally at risk online,” the report said. “Those who are most at risk often engage in risky behaviors and have difficulties in other parts of their lives.”

It is the product of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force, created last February by 49 state attorneys general to address what many of them said was the growing problem of sexual predators soliciting children online.

“The risks minors face online are complex and multifaceted and are in most cases not significantly different than those they face offline, and … as they get older, minors themselves contribute to some of the problems,” the study said.

The Task Force includes executives from social networking services like Facebook and News Corp’s MySpace, as well as other technology and media companies including Yahoo Inc, Verizon and Time Warner Inc’s AOL.

The findings, if accepted by the law enforcement community, would be important for Facebook and MySpace. Both social networking sites have large numbers of younger members, and parents have expressed concern over strangers approaching their children on those sites.

Both have signed agreements with the attorneys general to increase their efforts to protect their youngest members from sexual predators.

MySpace was the subject of a 2006 lawsuit by a 14-year-old girl who said she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old man she met on the site.

Released by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, the report suggests that the biggest threats to children’s safety online come from other children.

“Youth report sexual solicitation of minors by minors more frequently, but these incidents, too, are understudied, underreported to law enforcement, and not part of most conversations about online safety,” the task force said.

Online sexual predators are a concern, but the task force said that many of the studies it reviewed were based on law-enforcement cases that pre-dated social networking sites.

They said bullying and harassment, especially by peers, are the most frequent problem minors face both online and elsewhere.

Not all agreed with the findings. Task force member John Phillips, chief executive of Aristotle Corp, a company that makes software specifically intended to verify the identity and ages of people on the Internet, said blaming children and their parents is not the answer.

“There is absolutely a role for parents and for minors themselves to be a lot more careful,” he said in a telephone interview. He said industry also needs to do more to protect children from sexual predators.

MySpace, which helped to fund the study, said in a statement it fully supports the key conclusions of the report, noting that “there is no single technological solution to the problem of youth online safety and no single technology that fully addresses any specific risk minors face.”

Other companies that helped pay for the study include Microsoft Corp, AOL, MTV Networks parent Viacom, AT&T, Symantec, Turner Broadcasting, Loopt and Linden Lab, creator of the Second Life online community.

Any thoughts? We’d sure like to hear them.

Double Edged Sword?

Facebook is by far the greatest social phenomenon to hit the planet or at least one of the greatest. Launched in 2004 by two Harvard University sophomores, the social network exploded into the 2000s and drew colossal Internet traffic. FB boasts more than 100,000 million users and it is still growing. It’s a great place to meet up with old friends and to make new ones. There is no doubt that FB is a booming success.

But at what cost? Is it a double edged sword? Many experts believe so. No matter what the entity, the pros will always square off with the cons. Though our kids can access major educational tools from this social network, as well instant communication with friends, they can also draw dangerous attention from predators, pedophiles, gangs and hate groups. Keeping in touch with their friends can be a plus, but that same open communication has an undercurrent of destruction. It’s clear. Oftentimes, the same things that make us laugh are the same things that make us cry. Facebook is no different.

How do we make sure the double-edged sword doesn’t cut into children? It’s obvious and all specialists agree. Adults, guardians and parents need to be more active in monitoring our children’s Internet activity. Get nosy. Get involved. Set privacy restrictions. Study the network. Watch out for suspicious activity and reject unknowns adding our kids as their friends. If we are to make sure that Facebook is an enjoyable experience, we must be more proactive. Otherwise, the double-edged sword of social networking may penetrate and cause massive injury to our children.

Do You Feel MySpace Is A Safe Place For Our Kids To Visit Or Hang Out?

Life is change. The smallest disturbance alters the pattern of the whole. The environment changes and man with it. If a young man meets a young lady under the right circumstances, he may be drawn to her by their common interests. This common interest toward a subject may deepen until they feel fondness and sympathy. The sympathy grows. They attach. If nothing disturbs this harmony, it will become infatuation. Love is the last stage and it can be tested by sacrifice.

Author, Lajos Egri (1888-1967) wrote this classic The Art of Dramatic Writing, a book that instructs writers on how to develop short stories, novels, screenplays and stage plays. His instructions were classic because he taught his students how to examine a play, its characters and its drama from the inside out. The quotes above come from a chapter entitled Environment. The basic premise of the chapter affirms that environment is what shapes character. The way we interact, the way we talk, the way we think and the way we feel.

In today’s postmodern society, the environment of the Internet has commanding influence in the lives of our kids. Online communities such as MySpace, Facebook and Xanga host a tremendous amount of daily traffic, particularly from youth. Years ago, interaction among children was more personal. Kids would meet at a game room in the mall, a local park, a skating rink, the movies, a youth function at church or at a local high school football game. But as Lajos Egri has duly noted, life is change. And yes, the smallest disturbance does alter the pattern of the whole. Enter the social networking craze. 

The question is Are They Safe?