In an age where it is commonplace for kids to know more about technology and the Internet than their parents, do you know how and where your children spend their time in cyberspace?In a report entitled Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later, researchers found that approximately one in seven youth (10 to 17-years-old) received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet.
With kids using the Internet at school, with friends, and at home, it is important for parents to be aware of what their children are doing online, what the risks include, and what you can do to keep them safe.
Social networking groups like MySpace, Facebook, and Friendster can be a great forum for teenagers to express themselves and make friends that might have common interests. However, such groups can also be dangerous if young people get involved with predators. Many of these websites allow users to create profiles with contact information, pictures, and journals.
Child abductors and other criminals may use such websites to lure kids into meeting in-person by lying about their age and interests. While MySpace, Facebook, and Friendster cater to teens, other sites advertise themselves as offering chat for “Kids.” Don’t be taken in by the name. They often do not screen for age and allow adults, pretending to be children, to participate.
Make sure to not only check on the names of the sites used by your children, but to visit the sites and use them. Remember, if a site allows your child to post information such as an email address, a full name, or a street address, your child can be contacted by anyone who sees that post online.
If your child is under 13 years of age, a site that allows posting without prior parental permission is probably in violation of the Guidelines of the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (“CARU”) and of Federal law. If you have any question or complaints regarding websites used by your children, contact CARU at http://www.caru.org/. Additional information has been published by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=1478.
