Lewis, Raphael and Tara Yaekel (31 May, 2000). “Virtual Dare, Real Scare: Girl’s Action Highlights Perils of Net” The Boston Globe.

Belkin, Doug and Mac Daniel (14 August, 2001). “Runaway Teenager Lost Way on the Web” The Boston Globe.

Thomas, Karen (9 June, 2000). “Kids Run a 20% risk of ‘Cybersex’ Advances” USA Today.
(Download this review as a PDF)

 

 

Overview:

Danielle Carrien, a 13 year-old seventh grader in Massachusetts, was lucky to make it home some 18 hours after vanishing from the yard. In New York, a 15 year-old girl from Massachusetts spent two days held in a closet undergoing an ordeal of rape before she was able to contact police.

 

What is the relationship between such awful incidents and teen internet use? According to recent (2000) survey data, one in five adolescents and teens who regularly socialize on the Net have encountered strangers soliciting ‘cybersex’. Though in 75% of cases the solicitation is ignored by youths, the risk that comes with such open-ended communication is palpable.

 

Carrien met up with an older teenage boy she met while chatting on America Online, promptly joining him for a sleepover. Though her situation evidenced obvious risks, in many cases, notes Lewis and Yaekel, youths are baited by adult ‘cyber-stalkers.’ John Grossman, chief of the High Technology and Computer Crime Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, reports “we are seeing an increasing number of cases of young people meeting older acquaintances they made on the Internet.”

 

Understandably, parents are concerned. “They parents have to know what the kids are doing on the Internet,” says Edith Flynn, a criminal justice professor at NortheasternUniversity. But this is no easy matter. In Carrien’s case, her parent’s had limited her to one hour a day on the Net, and the computer was located in a central, viewable room in the house. Even still, she had generated a 30 person “Buddy” list in America Online chat rooms.

 

In the New York

case, the 15 year-old willingly met with a man and woman in their forties, who then kidnapped and sodomized her. According to Belkin and Daniel’s report, the girl involved was under considerable stress at home, even though she was a responsible honor-roll student. 

 

The Cyberangels, a volunteer Internet safety organization, has launched school-based efforts to help teenagers train one another in the risks of Internet use. Their executive director, Parry Aftab, admits that kids and parents are holding a two-edged sword: “It’s a serious, serious problem. Yet the Internet is absolutely essential to all our kids.”

 

One obvious lesson is that kids must not let the ease of Internet interaction translate into a ready trust of those they meet online. The prevalence of cybersex advances alone indicates the exposure that happens when youths open themselves up to online chat forums.

 

Consider these numbers from a 2000 study conducted by the University of New Hampshire and the NationalCenter for Missing and Exploited Children:

 

·        66% of those reporting a sexual advance while online were female.

 

·        70% of incidents happened wile the youth was on a home computer.

 

·        65% occurred wile in a chat room; 24% by instant message.

 

·        29% told a friend or sibling; 24% told a parent.

 

·        77% of kids propositioned were 14 or older.

 

One challenge, according to Thomas, is that kids see online friendships as a great gift of the Internet. But when it comes to meeting up with such ‘friends’ in person, no amount of safeguards and family involvement is too much.

 

 

Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

 

1.      Does your child/teenagers you work with participate in online chat forums?

 

2.      Do you have rules in your home about Internet surfing?

 

3.      Is your computer in an open, viewable area?

 

4.      What stresses are currently affecting your child/teens you work with that might encourage them to seek solace in a virtual community?

 

5.      How can parents/counselors have frank conversations with young people about the problem of online sexual solicitation?

 

 

Implications:

 

Its’ virtues notwithstanding, the Internet poses great risks. It tends to give one the illusion of privacy, security, and community, at times inviting unwanted attention and contact. Though it may be an awkward and difficult task for parents, communicating with your child about Internet use and setting reasonable boundaries is vital. Obviously we should not be alarmist and assume all children are being ‘stalked’ by online predators, but even something as simple as turning to the Internet to relieve stress can quickly catalyze unhealthy habits and risks. 

 

Christopher S. Yates cCYS