In almost every newspaper, magazine, and online parenting site you’ll find articles about how to protect children from online sexual predators. For baby boomer or Gen-X parents who didn’t grow up with the Internet this seems like good advice. But did you know that the chances of children being abducted or victimized by a stranger they meet online is quite slim? Our children who are growing up online are pretty savvy. By the time they are thirteen or fourteen, they’ll have heard many, many times to never give out personal information to strangers. By the time your toddler is in middle school, it’s very likely that his or her school will actually hold courses on online etiquette. But even if your child does publish detailed information, this will not likely result in victimization, according to David Finkelhor, director of Crimes Against Children Research Center. During the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee Forum called Just the Facts About Online Youth Victimization, Finkelhor and other experts outlined statistics showing the real online dangers. And, not too surprisingly, it’s the children themselves.
“Our research, actually looking at what puts kids at risk for receiving the most serious kinds of sexual solicitation online, suggests that it’s not giving out personal information that puts kid at risk. It’s not having a blog or a personal Web site that does that either. What puts kids in danger is being willing to talk about sex online with strangers or having a pattern of multiple risky activities on the web like going to sex sites and chat rooms, meeting lots of people there, kind of behaving in a matter we call the “internet daredevil.”
We think that in order to address these crimes and prevent them, we’re gonna have to take on a lot more awkward and complicated topics that start with an acceptance of the fact that some teens are curious about sex and are looking for romance and adventure and
take risks when they do that. We have to talk to them about their decision making if they are doing things like that,” Finkelhor told the audience.
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