MySpace or My Safety?
Aggressive Online Sexual Solicitation Is on the Rise
Jun 11, 2008 Elizabeth Randall
Most parents would agree that a child or a teenager younger than 16 should not drive. Why? Because the power of an automobile requires training, discipline and good judgment, virtues which are at odds with the maturity level of a child. Why then would a parent fail to use similiar safeguards with the family computer? Kids already know that technology equals power. What they don’t know is that the power of technology can overwhelm and harm them.
There are many dangers associated with online web activity. Anything a child puts out in cyberspace can be used forever against them, their family, their friends. Identity thieves use program portals to seize confidential information. Cyber bullies torment victims in more widespread and menacing ways than ever before.
Aggressive Sexual Solicitation by Child Predators is on the Rise
A parent's worst fear is becoming commonplace. According to the Marion County, Florida's Local Youth Internet Crimes Units:
- 23% of pre-school children use the internet
- 32% of Kindergartener use the internet
- 80% of High Schoolers use the internet
- 34% of children are exposed to unwanted sexually explicit material.
Despite such widespread usage, few safeguards and laws are in place. Law enforcement officers declare that the World Wide Web is a giant new playground for sexual predators. According to the FBI, the Internet is the best way for child predators to contact and to meet underage sex partners.
One in 7 children online is sexually approached or solicited. One in 17 children online is threatened or harassed.
The Reach of Child Predators in Cyberspace
According to Marion County, Florida's local internet crimes units, solicitation occurs in chat rooms, by instant messaging, or in any of the social networking sites: MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, and Hi5. Where are these computers located?
- 70% at home
- 22% someone else’s home
- 3% at the library
- 4% at school.
Parents Can Do Something About Social Networks
Many parents put the computer in a common room and check often to see what their children are viewing. They establish time limits for computer use, and make sure they have their children’s passwords for any game sites or instant messaging sites.
Parents are also refusing to allow their children access to the social networking sites in the backwash of related crime that it has entailed. It is illegal to register with MySpace if the user is under 18 years of age anyway. Parents can report underage usage to the social networking site and demand that their children’s pages are removed.
Parents also use available software safeguards such as NetNanny, Pandora’s, and SpectorSoft, which take screen shots and provide site locations of computer usage. Some parents find it effective to access temporary files and cookies and view them at random. Checking the history helps too.
Training and Education
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has a good site for parents, teens, educators and kids to learn about internet safety: Netsmartz. True-life stories are posted online for family discussion, and internet safety tips are posted daily. Speak Out Hotline, an affiliate of Crimeline, has some internet safety tips as well. It also posts an anonymous tip line for kids to use to report internet crime.
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