New Online Safety Stats
January 30th, 2009 | by admin |Cyber Crime, Cyber Culture, Cyber News, Online Predators, Teen Issues
Here are some interesting stats from the folks at the NCMEC. These are the the good people who have done so much great work fighting child pornography and warning about online predators.
For some reason, I feel compelled to tone things down today, to make sure that some of my regular angles on things are understood in a broader context. That said, it is becoming widely accepted that many of the more sensational claims about online dangers for kids have been largely exaggerated. However, that doesn’t mean that there are no dangers or that the Internet is predator free and totally safe.
Take a minute to check out some of these new stats and remind yourself of some of the things that we all need to be on the outlook for where our teens and the Internet are concerned.
Here you go:
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the latest online victimization research shows:
• Approximately one in seven youth online (10 to 17-years-old) received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet.
• Four percent (4%) received an aggressive sexual solicitation – a solicitor who asked to meet them somewhere; called them on the telephone; or sent them offline mail, money, or gifts.
• Thirty-four percent (34%) had an unwanted exposure to sexual material — pictures of naked people or people having sex.
• Twenty-seven percent (27%) of the youth who encountered unwanted sexual material told a parent or guardian. If the encounter was defined as distressing – episodes that made them feel very upset or afraid – forty-two percent (42%) told a parent or guardian.
• Two out of five missing children, between the ages of 14 and 17, are missing due to internet activity (Still verifying this one)
There is a lot more information available on the Kid Safe site. Check out the rest of these numbers and find out more about this important subject.