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A Parent's Guide to Online Dangers
Friday April 8, 2011
by Daniel Weiss
While the Internet can open up the world to young people, expanding knowledge and networks, it can also expose them to a host of negative experiences and content. Fears about online content are attested to by the dozens of “blockable” categories in most filtering programs. Three of the most frightening experiences youth can have online involve: Internet pornography, sexual solicitations and harassment, sometimes known as cyberbullying.
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Most boys and girls have seen pornography online
A 2006 study of 563 college students found that 73 percent of respondents (93% of boys and 62% of girls) had seen online pornography before age 18. Most exposure began when youth were ages 14 to 17 with an average age of 14.3 years for boys and 14.8 years for girls. 1
The Crimes Against Children Research Center measured children’s online pornography exposure in 2005 and found that 42 percent of youth Internet users ages 10-17 had been exposed to online pornography in the past year. Among those exposed, 66 percent reported they had not sought out the content. The rest (34%) reported intentional exposure or a mix. 2
Youth reporting online pornography exposure in 20053
|
Age |
Boys |
Girls |
Boys |
Girls |
Boys |
Girls |
|
10-11 |
17% |
16% |
1% |
2% |
18% |
18% |
|
12-13 |
22 |
24 |
11 |
3 |
33 |
27 |
|
14-15 |
26 |
37 |
26 |
5 |
52 |
42 |
|
16-17 |
30 |
38 |
38 |
8 |
68 |
46 |
The majority of youth that had sought out pornography were teenage boys. One-quarter of boys ages 14-15 and almost four in 10 (38%) 16- and 17-year-old boys had gone to pornographic websites on purpose in the past year. Adolescent girls do not show much interest in online pornography, but millions of them are exposed inadvertently.
See also:
The New Normal? -- Youth Exposure to Online Pornography
Youth Exposure to Pornography Worldwide
In the Bull's-Eye: Pornographers Target Children Online
Pornography in the Bedroom in a Digital Age
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Online sexual solicitation affects one in seven youth
Approximately 1 in 7 youth (13%) was sexually solicited online in 2005, down from 19 percent in 2000.4 While solicitation was down, the percentage of aggressive (4%) and distressing incidents (4%) held steady.5
Of youth targeted for sexual solicitations and approaches:
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70% were girls and 30% were boys
-
81% percent were ages 14 or older
-
31% of the solicitations were aggressive, meaning the solicitors made, or attempted, offline contact with youth 6
Who is doing the soliciting?
The majority of sexual solicitors are male and do not know their victims offline. Almost half are adolescents and a surprising number are female.
Characteristics of sexual solicitors7
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73% of perpetrators are male
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Females initiate 16% of aggressive solicitations
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Of the females who make aggressive sexual solicitations 64% are younger than 18 and 36% are 18 to 24
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Youth report that 39% of solicitors are adults (age 18 or older)
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30% of the solicitors are described as being between 18 and 25
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43% of all solicitations and 44% of aggressive solicitations are perpetrated by youth under age 18
-
Youth did not know the age of the solicitor in 18% of incidents
What are they asking for?
Youth report receiving questions about personal appearance (i.e. bra size) and sexual experiences, propositions for “cybersex” in live chat or instant-messaging sessions, and requests for nude or sexual photographs. In one-quarter of the incidents (27%), solicitors requested sexual photographs of youth.8
How does this impact youth?
Two-thirds of youth (66%) who experienced a solicitation were not particularly bothered by it, but 28 percent said the experience made them “very or extremely upset” and 20 percent felt “very or extremely afraid.”9
In one-quarter of all solicitation incidents, youth showed significant stress, including “staying away from the Internet or a particular part of it, being unable to stop thinking about the incident, feeling jumpy or irritable, and/or losing interest in things.”
How did youth handle the solicitations?
Most youth (66%) left the situation or blocked the solicitor when an incident occurred. Others confronted or warned the solicitor (16%) or simply ignored him or her (11%).
A majority of incidents (56 percent) were not immediately reported to others. Only 12 percent told parents or guardians.10
See also:
Sexual Solicitation Online
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Online harassment can be very distressing for youth
Online harassment, also called cyberbullying, can take many forms, including spreading rumors, gossiping, impersonating someone, name-calling or making threats. Thankfully, online harassment impacts a minority of youth. One study found that 34 percent of youth ages 10-15 have been harassed online in the past year.
Online harassment
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Any type – 34.0%
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Rude or mean comments – 31.0%
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Rumors spread online – 13.1%
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Threatening or aggressive comments – 13.8%11
No matter which numbers you use, Internet harassment impacts millions of youth each year. Researchers also found that among those reporting harassment:
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50% were harassed more than once
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32% reported chronic harassment (more than 3 times in the previous year)
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45% knew the harasser in person before the incident
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57% reported online-only contacts 12
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25% reported receiving an aggressive offline contact (the harasser telephoned, came to the youth’s home, or sent gifts) 13
Risk factors for online harassment
A number of risk factors increase the chances of online harassment. One obvious factor is that youth who use interactive online communications more frequently, such as instant messaging, chat, online journals and blogs, are also targeted for harassment more often. Other factors include talking online with people the youth hasn’t met in person, high conflict with parents, physical or sexual abuse, offline interpersonal victimization, and aggressive behavior and social problems.14
Researchers find that those youth harassed by people they knew were about five times more likely to have used the Internet to harass someone they were mad at than youth not harassed.15
See also:
Cyberbullying and Online Harassment
Daniel Weiss is ROCK's director of research and national outreach.
Endnotes
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1 Chiara Sabina, Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor, “The Nature and Dynamics of Internet Pornography Exposure for Youth,” CyberPsychology & Behavior. December 2008, 11(6): 691-693.
2 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Unwanted and Wanted Exposure to Online Pornography in a National Sample of Youth Internet Users,” Pediatrics, February 2007.
3 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Unwanted and Wanted Exposure to Online Pornography in a National Sample of Youth Internet Users,” Pediatrics, February 2007.
4 Janis Wolak, Kimberly Mitchell, And David Finkelhor, “Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later,” The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2006, http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/CV138.pdf
5 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later,” The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2006.
6 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later,” The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2006.
7 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later,” The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2006.
8 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later,” The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2006.
9 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later,” The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2006.
10 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later,” The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2006.
11 Ybarra, Mitchell, “How Risky Are Social Networking Sites? A Comparison of Places Online Where Youth Sexual Solicitation and Harassment Occurs,” Pediatrics, 2008.
12 Janis Wolak, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and David Finkelhor, “Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 41 (2007) S51–S58.
13 Ybarra, Mitchell, Wolak, Finkelhor, “Examining Characteristics and Associated Distress Related to Internet Harassment: Findings From the Second Youth Internet Safety Survey,” Pediatrics, October 2006.
14 Janis Wolak, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and David Finkelhor, “Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 41 (2007) S51–S58.
15 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 2007. |
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