In light of the recent internet safety posts, I figured it might be beneficial to not only tell you things I think you should do to prevent online predation, but provide you with some facts. These aren’t my opinion, these things actually happen, and we all need to be aware – children and adults alike.
- In 1998, 20% of all children on the Internet received a sexual solicitation. This was before the Internet was even as popular as it is today.
- 30% of children have been solicited for a face-to-face meeting, requested a phone call, or requested to mail money or gifts.
- 25% of children ages 4-10 have been exposed to partially or completely nude photos of online predators.
- Of that 25%, 1 in every 17 of those children were threatened or harassed.
- Less than 10% of these incidents are reported to law enforcement.
- In 2006, 12% of tweens (ages 8-12) and 56% of teens (ages 13-18) were asked for identity information.
- 10% of tweens and 54 percent of teens say they often chat with people they don’t know via instant messaging applications.
- 5% of tweens and 42% of teens say they’ve willingly posted some personal information online.
- 16% of tweens and 30% of teens have reported that they’d discovered the person they were chatting with was pretending to be much younger than they really were.
That last one actually scared me, and it’s hard to believe. If you or anyone you know is being harassed, solicited, or exploited by an online predator who isn’t who they say they are, I found this site where you can report it, either anonymously or with your name. Please stay safe, and report online predators!
http://www.wiredsafety.org/internet_predators/index.html
Nicole
