Using Internet communication tools
such as chat rooms, e-mail, and instant
messaging can put children at potential
risk of encountering online predators.
The anonymity of the Internet means that
trust and intimacy can develop quickly
online. Predators take advantage of this
anonymity to build online relationships
with inexperienced young people.
Parents can help protect their kids
by becoming aware of the risks related
to online communication and being
involved in their kids' Internet
activities.
Continue reading to get answers to
your questions about how online
predators work, who is at risk of
being victimized by online predators,
how you can help to reduce the risk
of your child becoming a target, and
more.
On This Page
How do online predators work?
Which young people are at risk?
How can parents minimize the risk of
a child becoming a victim?
How can your kids reduce the risk of
being victimized?
How can you tell if your child is
being targeted?
What can you do if your child is being
targeted?
How do online
predators work?
Predators establish contact with
kids through conversations in chat
rooms, instant messaging, e-mail, or
discussion boards. Many teens use
peer support online forums to deal
with their problems. Predators often
go to these online areas to look for
vulnerable victims.
Online predators try to gradually
seduce their targets through attention,
affection, kindness, and even gifts,
and often devote considerable time,
money, and energy to this effort.
They're aware of the latest music and
hobbies likely to interest kids. They
listen to and sympathize with kids'
problems. They also try to ease young
people's inhibitions by gradually
introducing sexual content into their
conversations or by showing them
sexually explicit material.
Some predators work faster than others,
engaging in sexually explicit
conversations immediately. This more
direct approach may include harassment
or stalking. Predators may also
evaluate the kids they meet online
for future face-to-face contact.
Which young people
are at risk?
Young adolescents are the most
vulnerable age group and are at high
risk of being approached by online
predators. Young adolescents are
exploring their sexuality, moving
away from parental control, and
looking for new relationships
outside the family. Under the guise
of anonymity, they are more likely
to take risks online without fully
understanding the possible
implications.
Young people who are most vulnerable
to online predators tend to be:
• new to online activity and
unfamiliar with netiquette
• aggressive computer users
• the type to try new, edgy
activities in life
• actively seeking attention
or affection
• rebellious
• isolated or lonely
• curious
• confused regarding sexual
identity
• easily tricked by adults
• attracted by subcultures
apart from their parents' world
Kids feel they are aware of the
dangers of predators, but in reality,
they are quite naive about online
relationships.
How can parents
minimize the risk of a child becoming
a victim?
• Talk to your kids about sexual
predators and potential online
dangers.
• Young children should not use
chat rooms—the dangers are too great.
As children get older, direct them
towards well-monitored kids' chat rooms.
Encourage even your teens to use
monitored chat rooms.
• If your children take part in
chat rooms, make sure you know which
ones they visit and with whom they
talk. Monitor the chat areas yourself
to see what kind of conversations take
place.
• Instruct your children to never
leave the chat room's public area.
Many chat rooms offer private areas
where users can have one-on-one chats
with other users—chat monitors can't
read these conversations. These are
often referred to as "whisper" areas.
• Keep the Internet-connected
computer in a common area of the house,
never in a child's bedroom. It is much
more difficult for a predator to
establish a relationship with your
child if the computer screen is easily
visible. Even when the computer is in
a public area of your home, sit with
your child when they are online.
• When your children are young,
they should share the family e-mail
address rather than have their own
e-mail accounts. As they get older,
you can ask your Internet Service
Provider (ISP) to set up a separate
e-mail address, but your children's
mail can still reside in your account.
• Tell your children to never
respond to instant messaging or e-mails
from strangers. If your children use
computers in places outside your
supervision—public library, school,
or friends' homes—find out what computer
safeguards are used.
• If all precautions fail and
your kids do meet an online predator,
don't blame them. The offender always
bears full responsibility. Take decisive
action to stop your child from any
further contact with this person.
How can your kids
reduce the risk of being victimized?
There are a number of precautions that
kids can take, including:
• Never downloading images from
an unknown source—they could be sexually
explicit.
• Using e-mail filters.
• Telling an adult immediately if
anything that happens online makes them
feel uncomfortable or frightened.
• Choosing a gender-neutral screen
name that doesn't contain sexually
suggestive words or reveal personal
information.
• Never revealing personal
information about themselves (including
age and gender) or information about
their family to anyone online and not
filling out online personal profiles.
• Stopping any e-mail communication,
instant messaging conversations, or
chats if anyone starts to ask questions
that are too personal or sexually
suggestive.
• Posting the family online
agreement near the computer to remind
them to protect their privacy on the
Internet.
How can you tell if
your child is being targeted?
It is possible that your child is the
target of an online predator if:
• Your child or teen spends a
great deal of time online. Most
children who are victims of online
predators spend a lot of time online,
particularly in chat rooms, and may
close the doors to their rooms and be
secretive about what they do when they
go work on their computer.
• You find pornography on the
family computer. Predators often use
pornography to sexually victimize
children—supplying things such as Web
sites, photos, and sexual e-mail
messages as a way to open sexual
discussions with potential victims.
Predators may use photos of child
pornography to convince a child that
it is normal for adults to have sex
with children. You should be aware
that your child may hide pornographic
files on disks, especially if other
family members use the computer.
• Your child or teen receives
phone calls from people you don't know,
or makes calls (sometimes long distance)
to numbers you don't recognize. After
establishing contact with your child
online, some online predators may try
to contact young people to engage in
phone sex, or to try to set up a real
-world, face-to-face meeting. If
children hesitate at giving out their
home phone number, online sex
offenders will provide theirs. Some
even have toll-free 1-800 numbers,
so potential victims can call them
without their parents' knowledge.
Others will tell children to call
collect—and then, with Caller ID or
Call Display, the predators can
easily determine the child's phone
number. Do not allow your child
to meet a stranger they have met
online, in person, without your
supervision.
• Your child or teen receives
mail, gifts, or packages from
someone you don't know. It's common
for offenders to send letters,
photographs, and gifts to potential
victims. Online sex offenders even
send airline tickets to entice a
child or teen to meet them in person.
• Your child or teen withdraws
from family and friends, or quickly
turns the computer monitor off or
changes the screen if an adult enters
the room. Online predators work hard
to drive wedges between kids and
their families, often exaggerating
minor problems at home. Sexually
victimized children tend to become
withdrawn and depressed.
• Your child is using someone
else's online account. Even kids
who don't have access to the Internet
at home may meet an offender while
online at a friend's house or at
another public place, even the library.
Predators sometimes provide victims
with a computer account so they can
communicate.
What can you do if
your child is being targeted?
• If your child receives sexually
explicit photos from an online
correspondent, or if she or he is
solicited sexually in e-mail, instant
messaging, or some other way online,
contact your local police. Save any
documentation including e-mail
addresses, Web site addresses, and
chat logs to share with the police.
• Check your computer for
pornographic files or any type of
sexual communication—these are often
warning signs.
• Monitor your child's access
to all live electronic communications,
such as chat rooms, instant messaging,
and e-mail. Online predators usually
meet potential victims in chat rooms
at first, and then continue
communicating with them through
e-mail or instant messaging.
Source: Some of the above information
was adapted, with permission, from
the U.S. Federal Bureau of
Investigation publication A Parent's
Guide to Internet Safety.
Internet Filter Resources
Are you a teen and
need another teen to listen to you?
Do you, as a teen, need answers
from another teen to your questions
about anything?
Go to the following website:
OnYourMind.
net: Peer support, chat, information
and help...
So, what's on your mind? We're a
non-profit web-based organization
from teens,
for teens that can provide support
and referrals through an online
chat, ...
http://www.
onyourmind.net/
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