A lot of parental worries about Internet sex predators are unjustified, according to new research by a leading center that studies crimes against children.
"There's been some overreaction to the new technology, especially when it comes to the danger that strangers represent," said Janis Wolak, a sociologist at the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.
"Actually, Internet-related sex crimes are a pretty small proportion of sex crimes that adolescents suffer," Wolak added, based on three nationwide surveys conducted by the center.
Wolak and co-researchers examined several fears that they concluded are myths:
Internet predators are driving up child sex crime rates.
Finding: Sex assaults on teens fell 52 percent from 1993 to 2005, according to the Justice Department's National Crime Victimization Survey, the best measure of U.S. crime trends. "The Internet may not be as risky as a lot of other things that parents do without concern, such as driving kids to the mall and leaving them there for two hours," Wolak said.
Internet predators trick or abduct their victims.
Finding: Most victims meet online offenders face-to-face and go to those meetings expecting to engage in sex. Nearly three-quarters have sex with partners they met on the Internet more than once.
Internet predators meet their victims by posing online as other teens.
Finding: Only 5 percent of predators did that, according to the survey of investigators.
Source: McClatchy Newspapers
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/28029.html
While it comes as a relief that the danger of Internet predators appears less than we might have imagined, parents should not lessen standards they've put in place for protecting their kids regarding Internet usage. What a tragedy it would be to lessen parental oversight and have your kids become one of the victims of an Internet predator. Just because the risk of being victimized is less than we thought, doesn't mean that predators aren't out there nor that your child cannot become a victim. The takeaway from these statistics are to be glad for a reduction in risk, but remain proactive in Internet protecting your kids.
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