Online predator

An online predator is an adult Internet user who exploits vulnerable children or teens, usually for sexual or other abusive purposes.^[1]

Online victimization of minors can include child grooming, requests to engage in sexual activities or discussions by an adult, unwanted exposure to sexual material (email with naked pictures, etc.), and online harassment, threats or other aggressive communications that are not sexual in nature but cause distress, fear or embarrassment.^[2]

Chat rooms, instant messaging, Internet forums, social networking sites, and even video game consoles have all been accused of attracting online predators.^[3][4][5] A 2007 study, however, found no cases of minors being targeted by Internet predators on the basis of information they had posted on social networking sites.^[1]

Software that attempts to monitor computer activity has seen some popularity with parents concerned about Internet predators.^[6] Many experts recommend talking to children and teens about online safety.^[7]

There are many organizations that fight against online predators. During 2006 and 2007, the American news-magazine Dateline came out with To Catch a Predator. What began as a single episode turned into a long running and explosively popular continuation of the concept that lasted for several months, and prompted a national dialogue on internet safety for preteens and adolescents. With the participation of vigilantes by the name of Perverted-Justice.com, would-be child abusers were lured to numerous residential homes throughout the US under the ruse of having sex with a young boy or girl.

Statistics

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children funded a study by the Crimes Against Children Resource Center in 2006 of youth Internet users over a five year period. They found:^[8]

• An increase in encountering unwanted exposures to sexual material (from 25% to 34%).
• An increase in cases of online harassment (from 6% to 9%).
• A decrease in those receiving unwanted sexual solicitations (from 19% to 13%).
• 40% of all youth Internet users said online solicitors asked them for nude or sexually explicit photographs of themselves.
• Only a minority of youth who had unwanted sexual solicitations, unwanted exposures to sexual material, or harassment said they were distressed by the incidents.
• One-third of the solicitations (31%) were aggressive, meaning the solicitors made, or attempted, offline contact with youth.

The validity of these statistics has been questioned.^[9]

See also

• Advance-fee fraud
• Adult grooming
• Child sexual abuse
• Computer crime
• Cyberbullying
• Cyberstalking
• FBI
• Federal crime
• Identity theft
• Online identity
• Pedophilia
• Sexual harrassment
• Sex crime
• Stalking
• White Collar Crime
• Wire fraud

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Wolak, Janis; David Finkelhor, Kimberly J. Mitchell, Michele L. Ybarra (Feb-Mar 2008). "Online "predators" and their victims: Myths, realities, and implications for prevention and treatment". American Psychologist 63 (2): 111–128. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.63.2.111. PMID 18284279. http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2008/feb/lw18internet.cfm. Retrieved 2008-04-21. 
2. ^ "Snyder,H; Sickmund,M: Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 2006 National Report", p38. National Center for Juvenile Justice, March 2006.
3. ^ "Online Predators: Help minimize the risk". Microsoft Corporation . 24 September 2008 <http://www.Microsoft.com/protect/family/guidelines/predators.mspx>.
4. ^ Williams, Pete (2006-02-03). "MySpace, Facebook attract online predators". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11165576/. Retrieved 2006-12-08. 
5. ^ Burt, David (2009-03-16). "Playstation Pedophiles". Filtering Facts. http://filteringfacts.org/2009/03/16/playstation-pedophiles/. Retrieved 2009-03-16. "[G]aming consoles such as PlayStation, Wii, and Xbox have become Internet-enabled, interactive devices. This provides an opportunity for pedophiles to befriend and groom minors." 
6. ^ Donna Rice Hughes. Answers from an Internet safety expert (Internet). Answering parents' frequently asked questions: MSNBC. 
7. ^ Talking Points for a Discussion with Your Child About Online Safety PDF, SaberHacer.com
8. ^ WOLAK, J; Mitchell, K; Finkelhor, D: “Online Victimization of Youth: 5 Years Later”, page 1, CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN RESEARCH CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, 2006.
9. ^ Spreading "1 in 5" Number Does More Harm Than Good, Slashdot, Feb 26, 2008