WOW!!! That’s what I have to say about the video. I was one of the people that thought that what happens online as far as victimization, was from a stranger and that the victim was fooled by the age of the perpetrator. I also believed that the percentage of kids that were contacted by a stranger would be higher. I do have to say that when people on facebook want to be my friend… if I don’t know who they are I ignore them with no contact whatsoever. But 25% of the teens that are contacted by a stranger do go on and talk to them and only 7% are afraid of being contacted by a stranger. That is just crazy.
In a way, I see why teenagers would openly talk about sex online. That is because parents aren’t usually open to talk about these important topics with their children. But why aren’t parents closely monitoring what their children are doing online? I do believe that parents should not allow teens to enter certain sites and block them if possible. I also believe that just as parents ask who their kids are meeting with, who they are going out with and where they are going to, they should also follow what they do online. One problem that I do see with this is that parents, especially in middle and upper class families, don’t keep track of what their children do offline to go on and do it online.
# Who are we making safe?
We are trying to make it safe for teens to go online and not have to face any victimization. “Remember that
teens are changing a lot” (Amanda Lenhart), referring to their interests and their needs.
# What are we making safe?
We are trying to make messaging safe. This is where teens talk about their personal problems to strangers. “Engaging in sexual conversations…harassing others online.” (Dr. M. Ybarra).
# What are the consequences of such decisions?
“These behaviors seem to be most strongly associated with increased risk for victimization” (Dr. M. Ybarra). When they decide to contact strangers online or even the people they already know, and talk about sex or start harassing, there are teens that get caught in sexual behaviors with older people and those who become cyberbullies.
“So for example, Jenna – this is a pretty typical case – 13-year-old
girl from a divorced family, frequented sex-oriented chat rooms, had
the screen name “Evil Girl.” There she met a guy who, after a
number of conversations, admitted he was 45. He flattered her, gave
– sent her gifts, jewelry. They talked about intimate things. And
eventually, he drove across several states to meet her for sex on
several occasions in motel rooms. When he was arrested in her
company, she was reluctant to cooperate with the law enforcement
authorities.” (Dr. D. Finkelhor)
