The technologies most popular among kids are social networking sites, text messaging, chat rooms, instant messaging and online video games.  Below are two stories that demonstrate kids can be at risk no matter what type of technology they may be using.         

Feb 3, 2009 - A 27-year-old, Richmond Heights, Missouri man meets a 15-year-old girl in California on Xbox LIVE and travel's to girl's home state.  Edward Stout has been charged at the federal level with coercion of a minor over the Internet and traveling across state lines to engage in sex with a minor.  The state has charged him with lewd conduct with a juvenile and oral copulation with a person younger than 16. It appears from the news reports the relationship between Stout and the minor child had been ensuing since March of 2008, via the Internet and a cell phone which was a birthday gift from Stout.  Read full story

Feb 4, 2009 - 16-year-old Jasmine, from Pittsfield Township, Michigan, was found safe just outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico.  She left her home to join a 26-year-old man from New Jersey who she met in a live chat on her Xbox computer game.  This minor girl had been missing for three days and local and federal authorities were involved in the investigation.  Evidence indicated she had been lured out of the country based on her missing computer hard drive and damaged Xbox.  Read full story

Task Force Conclusions

Task Force research determined concerns in two areas:  "minors dealing with unwanted contact and content online," (sexual predation and the availability of harmful or illegal content).  We look at the two cases above and even though the Task Force concluded that according to their data, there was no influx of cases verses online and offline.  It was clearly stated sexual predation is still evident whether it happens because of a family member, affiliated family members or strangers online (Webcast dated Feb 3, 2009).

Task Force Clarifications:

They make it clear they didn't look at this from merely a social networking aspect, but from all aspects of technology, either through instant messaging or chat rooms as examples.  They found through random sampling of asking children whether they had received sexual messages in different forms online, when indeed most children had, they reported it was once and if it was more than once, it was reported to an authority.  Most kids said they ignored it.  The one thing that stood out in their research was most sexual solicitation happened primary between 20 something males and teenagers (mostly high school girls) knowing they are meeting up with an adult for sexual purposes and repeat the behavior with the same person 70 percent of the time.

Online chat rooms are still far more likely to be connected to the law enforcement cases that were studied by the Technical Task Force.  Not much change in instant messaging or social networking sites.  What they did find in a consistent pattern was that kids that are far more likely to be subjected to going offline with risky behavior would be at risk-kids offline and online.  They are more likely to have drug and alcohol related issues, home abuse and poor performance in school.  In other words, kids who demonstrate at-risk behaviors offline would do the same online, therefore, they are related.

Controversy

There is still much controversy that surrounds the findings of the Task Force by the 49 Attorney Generals stating that the data used was outdated.  The Task Force has been criticized for downplaying the problem.  The Attorney Generals asked how do they explain when a 14-year-old girl puts her profile on a social networking site she is bombarded with sexual messages?

Task Force Data:

They state their data is current through 2008 - consistent patterns over different data sets - they see some slight shifts depending on the traffic at one particular social networking site, but the same factors are at play.  Arrest record data is still needed and they do not have the data they need to make a determination.  Most of the arrest data received was from the Dateline and sting operations.  They say that at least half of the data sample shows sexual solicitations are between minors themselves and believe that the girls that deliberately post profiles inviting these types of events are probably the at-risk kids and need intervention.

Parental Recommendations from the Technical Task Force:

"Parents and caregivers should: educate themselves about the Internet and the ways in which their children use it…be engaged and involved in their children's Internet use; be conscious of the common risks to help children understand….be attentive to at-risk minors in their community and in their peer groups; recognize when they need to seek help from others."  http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/pubrelease/isttf/

Conclusion:  What do all of the above have in common?  Parental education, awareness and prevention are key components to protect kids online no matter what form of technology they use.