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Internet Predators

May 14, 2006

Schools are becoming pro-active in warning students about predators on sites like MySpace and Facebook. Parents need to become aware of the dangers, also.

Jim Puzzanghera, LATimes.com staff writer, reports that the Chicago police force has seen a large increase in cases stemming from the internet. A few years ago, the police would find that one or two cases a month were internet related. Now, the internet is the basis of nearly one case a day. Many of them involve children.

What Is The Problem?

The kids are giving away too much information that can be easily traced to their home address or school. Students will take a picture with their cell phone and post online. Now, the predator knows where the child lives and what they look like. In some cases, that is all they need to make contact.

Who Is Most At Risk?

The kids that tell their online friend that they hate their parents, drink, smoke, use drugs or have had sex are the easier targets. These kids are less likely to talk to their parents. Latch key kids are also more vulnerable because they would be home alone if a predator took the chance to go directly to their house. Predators can track a parent's cell phone through global positioning and know if a parent is at home, near or far away. If they have the phone number, they can learn this information. Of course, the child had no idea of the danger in giving out the parent's cell number. Girls who lie about being older than they are also making themselves vulnerable.

The dangers are real. Children feel safe in their homes and think nothing can happen. Middle school and high school students need to be closely monitored. This age group can not imagine anything bad happening to them. There is software available now that can assist parents in protecting their children.

Related articles: My Space: Safer Now?, MySpace in Schools.

Software for Protection

The following sites offer software to monitor internet traveling:

securitysoft.com, bpssoft.com, wiredkids.org.

Read previous articles on Educational Issues.

The copyright of the article Internet Predators in Educational Issues is owned by Barbara Pytel. Permission to republish Internet Predators in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Comments

May 6, 2008 6:48 AM

Guest :

While the Internet has played a role in many statutory rape cases, there are almost no documented cases of a student being lured by a predator posing on the Internet as a young person. In almost every known case, children are going to meet adults knowing full well that they are meeting an adult for sex. There is a larger problem here, one that the Internet has little relation to. These are troubled teens, and are seeking destructive relationships.

More info available below.

arvind grover
http://www.21apples.org

http://www.districtadministration.com/pulse/commentpost.aspx?news=no&postid=18080
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/technology/personaltech/28pogue-email.html?_r=3&8cir&emc=cir&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/bulletins/internet_2_2001/
http://www.alternet.org/story/46766/
http://www.netcaucus.org/events/2007/youth/video.shtml

May 8, 2008 1:28 AM

Barbara Pytel :

Local law enforcement would disagree.

2 Comments