I’ve been wondering about the dangers that exist for our children when they are on the Internet.  I asked the following question to an expert in criminal behavior on the Internet, Dr. Keith F. Durkin of Ohio Northern University.  Here’s what I asked him:

I’ve heard stories on TV news shows about possible dangers with MySpace.  Has the media exaggerated a few random incidents, or is my child really at risk?

This is what he told me:

Currently, the victimization of children online by sexual predators is seen as a serious social problem.  For instance, there have been a number of features on the Dateline NBC television program, where adult men are arrested after arriving for what they believe will be a sexual encounter with a young teen they met online.  Fortunately, the “teen” was a decoy working in conjunction with a law enforcement sting operation.  The growing popularity of “social networking” sites such as Myspace and Facebook have increased these parental concerns.

The results of a recent survey on adolescent Internet experiences conducted by researchers at the University of New Hampshire give us a glimpse into the extent of this phenomenon.  They found that 1 in 7 young people reported receiving unwanted sexual solicitations while online, while 1 in 3 were unwittingly exposed to pornographic material (sometimes via chat or e-mail).  Moreover, the offensive experiences for adolescents on the Internet are not limited to sexual victimization.  Young people can also be threatened or harassed while using the Internet.  The University of New Hampshire study found that 1 in 11 adolescents reported being harassed or threatened while on-line.   

However, there are some steps parents can take to protect their children from online predators and bullies.  For years, parents have been advised to keep their children safe on-line by placing their computer in a public area.  Unfortunately, the results of at least three current studies (including one conducted at Ohio Northern University suggest that having the family computer in a public place is not an effective strategy for preventing the online victimization of young people.  Even if the computer is in a public area of the home, it is impossible for parents to monitor everything that their child does online.  Also, a young person can always disguise her or his activities by minimizing the screen if they seen an adult looking over their shoulder.  Even the most vigilant parent may very well be ignorant of the content of their child’s online activities.  Young people often use symbols and abbreviations when chatting (e.g. ASL = age, sex, location; and POS = parent over shoulder).  Such language is probably incomprehensible to any parent who is monitoring such communication.  Also, remember that young people can still use the computer at a library or friend’s home where their activities may not be monitored by adults.

On the other hand, recent research clearly suggests that young people who chat with strangers online have a far higher risk for victimization.  Youths who chat with strangers are more likely to be sent explicit material, to receive solicitations, and to be threatened online.  Therefore, it is imperative that parents emphasize that young people must avoid engaging in any type of communication with strangers while online.  Obviously, children should never correspond with unknown adults.  However, it is advisable that they should not engage in communications with any unknown party.  For instance, an adult predator can easily misrepresent himself as a child online.  Also, young people can send explicit material to, and make threats to, other young people online.  In order to reduce victimization risks, the Internet use should focus on enhancing existing relationships, not to make new ones.  Children should be taught not to talk to strangers on line as soon as they start using the computer.  The purpose of your child’s Internet communications should be to strengthen existing “real life” relationships and friendships, not to make new ones.  Such responsible Internet practices should help minimize your child’s risk of  having negative experiences while online.

It’s important to take an active role with your children and their Internet use, because the dangers are out there.  Our responsibility as parents is to protect our children whether they are in the real world or the cyber world.