About one in five kids have received unwanted sexual attention online, said a report produced by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. The report will appear on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Thousands of leering Humbert Humberts will appear online, too, but today's kids may be too jaded to care. Maybe reporters are too, because these reports lacked most of the hyperbolic hand-wringing that usually accompanies any story about danger to minors.
If the one-in-five statistic sounds familiar, it's because it is. Similar headlines about online predators appeared this time last year, with data collected back in late 1999 and early 2000. The Washington Post nodded to last year's results, but added that "the JAMA report was subject to review by professional peers of the researchers." (Scientific credibility never hurts.) Additionally, a few outlets mentioned a second recent study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Many articles referred to "children," but don't picture your 5-year-old at the keyboard: The study published in JAMA surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds; the Pew survey started at 12. Girls face more abuse than boys - isn't that always the way? The likelihood of online solicitation was also higher for kids who were "troubled," used the Net more frequently, went to chat rooms, or did "risky" things online. "That might include posting personal information, making rude or nasty comments, talking about sex with someone who they never before met in person and going to X-rated sites on purpose," ABCNews.com explained. Grok discourages victim-blaming, and feels bad for anyone getting slobbered on by Net perverts, but if a teenager talks dirty with strangers, is it any surprise that some strangers talk back?
High schoolers just don't seem too bothered by the online come-ons. "The kids are generally all right," said ABCNews.com. "Kids assume it's all part of being online," said USA Today. Referring to the Pew study, USA Today reported that 57 percent of teens surveyed have blocked messages from hasslers, indicating that at least sometimes, minors can take care of themselves. Maybe a co-author of the JAMA-published UNH study said it best: "They know it comes with the territory. ... But we need to be concerned about the small group who are being frightened and upset."
Unfortunately, young people probably get more grief in real life than in chat rooms. According to the article's chief author, "one in three teenagers surveyed said they had been targeted for more conventional forms of offline abuse, such as being assaulted by students at school," Newsbytes said. None of the kids surveyed said they were sexually assaulted as a result of online doings. However, "this does not mean that such abuse does not occur, but that such events are probably not as common as others, such as intra-familial sexual abuse, date rape and gang violence, that do tend to show up in surveys of this size," the study researchers wrote. That's more depressing than any stock market news we'll hear this year.
Is there anything parents can do about abuse of the online variety? "Even parents who set the most stringent restrictions could not protect their children from being solicited sexually," reported the Dallas Morning News. The forever family-friendly USA Today agreed that rules, filters and time limits don't necessarily help. The study's authors urge kids to report harassers to the cops, their ISPs, and/or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "What's that going to do?" asked a 16-year-old Washington Post source. "They can change their screen name in the next 10 minutes."
Unwanted Attentions Online
ABCNews.com
One In Five Teens Receive Net Sex Solicitations
Newsbytes.com (JAMA)
Online sex predators pose risk for kids
Dallasnews.com
Survey suggests Neighborhood Watch to cut Internet solicitation of kids
Boston.com
Most teens ignore Net's sexual solicitations
USA Today
Kids Pressed for Sex Online
Washington Post
Studies Show That Children Are Solicited Online
The New York Times
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