For my fifth and final article analysis, I chose, "Safety in Cyberspace: Adolescents' Safety and Exposure Online" by Fleming, Greentree, Cocotti-Muller, Elias and Morrison. It was in the Youth and Society journal, Volume 38, Number 2, pages 135-154, Published December 2006.
ADOLESCENTS' SAFETY IN CYBERSPACE
Researchers are estimating that not only are youth online at a higher rate than ever, but they have a stronger presence than adults. Youth have access to the Internet at home and at school. It has been estimated that 21 million youth in the US, between the age of 12 and 17, use the Internet. That makes up approximately 87% of that age bracket. Estimates are the same for the same age bracket in Australia. Youth use the Internet for email, chatting, homework, games, music, sports, entertainment, hobbies, health information, and shopping. With youth using the Internet so much, comes a lot of concerns about dangers and their safety. Sexual predators often lurk online and groom potential victims by exposing them to pornography and sexual violence. As well, this exposure can greatly affect the child's development. Suggestions on how to protect youth include: discussion by parents, parental participation, increase of filters, and community education.
PARENTAL SAFETY DISCUSSION AND CONTROL OF INTERNET USE
Parents often regard their kids as the household "computer guru" (Kiesler, Zdaniuk, Lundmark and Kraut, 2000). Because youth know so much, parents often allow for their children to spend extended hours online, often spending more time on the computer now-a-days, than in front of the TV (Kiesler, Zdaniuk, Lundmark and Kraut, 2000). This has lead to implications in regards to parental control over the youth's Internet usage and children's attitudes (feeling they need to be online all the time, engaging in more risky behavior, etc).
With the high rates of online crimes, it is surprising that one study conducted by Turow and Nir in 2000, found that 60% of parents felt that people worry too much about the possibility of their child being victimized through online crimes. Some parents have stated that they have had the conversation about safe online practices, children to disagree that the convo ever took place. Some parents reported that they have installed filters and blockers on their home computer, therefore, the youth are safe.
ONLINE EXPOSURE
Sometimes youth visit pornographic or violent websites by choice. However, this may subject them to unpleasant materials that they were not expecting. Research has suggested that bullying, porn, and violence all have negative effects on youth. They may display violence towards women or peers, sexualized aggression, and may even lead to rape or the belief that they need to rape. Bullying can lead to depression, low self esteem, and even suicidal ideation.
ONLINE SAFETY PRACTICES
Sexual predators often know that the Internet is a place with a high volume of youth to which they can victimize. These predators can groom their victims. Grooming is a way that predators blur the line of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors. The process is gradual, and has an ultimate goal of making the child feel comfortable enough to engage in the inappropriate behaviors (whether it may be to have sex talk, send photographs or even meeting with the predator). The predator is attempting to gain affection, interest and trust of the child. They strive to be a "mentor" to the child. Youth often desire relationships, belongingness, attention, validation and acceptance. Predators know this fact and exploit it. In the grooming process, the predators attempt to normalize the behaviors. Normalizing the sexualized and deviant behaviors means that the child is less likely to tell anyone about the interaction. The grooming path typically follows: chatting, sexual comments, presentation of pornography (in order to desensitize the victim), meeting, gift giving.
HYPOTHESES
Boys will be more exposed to sexual and violent online materials, more so than girls.
Parents who have installed blockers and filters will indicate less online exposure.
Boys will have poorer safety practices than girls.
Younger teens will have poorer online safety practices than older teens.
Those teens who have talked with parents about safety online will have better safety practices.
METHOD
PARTICIPANTS
4 high schools in the Australian Capital Territory.
709 students between 8-10th grades.
17 were eliminated due to missing data, leaving 692 participants.
464 were male and 228 were female.
MEASURES
Self report questionnaire, which consisted of demographic questions (age, sex, access to Internet at home and school).
Main reason for using the Internet: IM, email, chatting, homework, music, videos, games, health, dating, relationships, TV, movies, help seeking, other.
Frequency of Internet usage: how often they use the Internet in an average week
Age group: 13-14 were younger teens, 15-16 were older teens
Parental use of blocks or filters: Yes/No if their parents have installed these programs
Internet safety discussions between parents and teens
Exposure to inappropriate material or behaviors online: how frequently they were exposed to porn, violence, bullying, rude comments, sexual comments, other offensive materials.
Online safety practices
RESULTS
99% of both girls and boys reported having school Internet access
95% of boys and 93% of girls reporting having Internet access at home
The main reason for using the Internet was homework, followed by IM, games, email, music/videos, and TV shows.
52% reported high Internet usage.
19% had parents install filters/blockers.
Only 39% of the older youth have had an Internet safety discussion with their parents.
Both girls and boys had exposure to violent and sexual materials.
DISCUSSION
Many young people were found to being exposed to sexual and violent materials. Boys were significantly more exposed to the inappropriate materials than were girls. Boys were found to be online more than girls, therefore, this leads to greater exposure to materials and behaviors. Explanation may be that boys are more curious, therefore, they are more willing to go to violent and pornographic websites. Approximately 1 in 5 parents had installed some form of blocker or filter on their home computer. However, the usage of these programs could be much higher, as parents often don't tell their children if they install the programs.
There was no difference between boys and girls online safety practices. Younger youth had poorer safety practices than older youth.
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The main reason for analyzing this article is to show the need for education and talk. Studies show that parents think there isn't much of a problem. This shows both parents and youth are naive about online dangers. Youth can be exposed to materials that can be damaging to their development (violent and sexual materials). They can even be exposed to predators who wish to take advantage of them and groom them for their sexualized desires. Predators lurk online and know the things to say to get children's trust. Many theorists, researchers, law enforcement personnel, etc all state that the Internet has become "a predators playground". This reason alone should be enough for parents to want to take action in ensuring their kids never become a victim to these online predators.
Showing posts with label Article Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Article Review. Show all posts
Friday, April 22, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Article Review #4
Article review #4 is for the article titled "Sexual Harassment on the Internet" by Azy Barak. The article was published in Social Science Computer Review, Volume 23, Number 1, Spring 2005, pages 77-92.
Introduction:
Sexual harassment is something that has always affected people. It h as played a role "at work, school, military installations, and social gatherings". Mostly women suffer from sexual harassment, however, men, children, and homosexuals are also targets of SH as well. The Internet has become a medium where people can be sexually harassed . "SH and offense on the Internet is considered a major obstacle to the free, legitimate, functional, and joyful use of the Net, as these acts drive away Net users as well as cause significant emotional harm and actual damage to those who remain users, whether by choice or by duty." In other words, despite all the positives of the Internet, bad exists, which causes harm and distress among the victim.
Offline Sexual Harassment
SH has largely been performed face to face in social environments. SH happens all over the world and is not limited to one culture or society. However, SH affects people in different ways. The authors state there are three categories of sexual harassment: gender, unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion. Gender is verbal and visual comments that put down the person because of their gender. These are intended to give the person negative emotions. This could be in the form of sexual jokes, insults, posting pornography, and making gender degrading remarks. Sexual attention refers to behaviors that display sexual desire and are unwanted by the victim. This could be staring at a womans breasts or making statements that insinuate sexual activities or desires. Sexual coercion is putting sexual pressure on another person . This could be touching, bribing, or making threats.
Sexual Harassment in Cyberspace
The three above types of SH are also online, but most of SH tends to be in the form of gender harassment and unwanted sexual attention. Gender harassment is very common online. It may be verbal, which could be offensive sexual messages toward a victim. Messages may be gender humiliating, such as saying a woman shouldn't be in a forum but rather in the kitchen, sexual remarks, or dirty jokes. Based off of a study by Mitchell, Finkelhor and Wolak (2003), 62% of youth received unwanted sexualized email's, 92% from senders they did not know and 73% unintentionally visited the websites which were sex sites (pop up windows, clicking a link they didn't know what it was, etc).
Passive verbal SH online is less intrusive than the pop ups or messages described above. The individual who is performing this type of SH online doesn't necessarily target a specific person, rather potential receivers. Example depicted in the article describes user names in chats, forums, instant messaging, emails, etc, which are offensive and possibly demeaning.
SH online can be both passive and active. Active harassment can be intentionally sending pornographic materials to another individual online. The amount of offense the receiver takes, it upon the sensitivity of that receiver. Therefore, whether the person deems the material as SH, depends on their attitudes, sensitivity and preferences, as well as, the content of the materials.
SH online is different than face to face SH, because communication between the harasser and victim is not necessary. The sender may post a message, however, the victim does not necessarily has to respond. It is important to note, that these activities may also not be considered sexual harassment based on the context of the situation. For instance, if someone enters a chat room in order to meet a partner, and they have a screen name which can be considered lude in other contexts, and make sexual statements, would not necessarily be considered SH, as both individuals entered the room for a sexually driven purpose.
Cases and Prevalence of SH on the Internet
There have been numerous articles depicting the dangerousness of SH on the Internet, however, very little empirical studies have been completed. One British study found that 41% of Internet users were sent pornographic materials online. Another study found that 19% of youth, mostly girls, had some form of SH in the past year.
The Dynamics of SH on the Internet
SH behavior is based on the online interactions and situations to which they are a part of. Online disinhibition tends to lead to a person exposing more of their "true self" than they would, prior to feeling disinhibited. It has always been stated that SH is about power, not about sex. The same is true online. Getting someone to lower their inhibitions, is a powerful factor in leading to SH. Disinhibition, more openness, and an environment which can be more masculine, can lead to higher likelihood of SH behaviors, especially by men towards women. As well, people online tend to follow group standards. This leads to further disinhibition and forms the groundwork of SH behavior. It is almost as if there is a lack of clear boundaries. Online there isn't the set of rules necessarily to state that SH behavior is wrong and will not be tolerated, as there is in the work place. The lack of legal and social sanctions supports SH behavior.
Effects of SH on the Internet
The main effects SH has on the victims is avoidance of certain sites where the SH took place. As well, women tend to change their online presence after SH takes place. Much more empirical research needs to be done to assess the effects SH online has on individuals.
Prevention of SH on the Internet
The main message in preventing SH on the Internet is educating potential victims and harassers, as well, changing culture and norms. It is argued that behaviors and attitudes are based on the media and users perspective. However, targeting specific populations online is virtually impossible, due to the vastness of the Internet. Therefore, the best method would be educating people on SH, especially starting with the youth.
Conclusion
SH exists online as much as it exists online. The Internet provides a unique environment where SH can be easily facilitated. Legally enforcing the prevention of SH is virtually impossible, educating with prevention messages to people, especially youth, can help the reduction of SH.
Introduction:
Sexual harassment is something that has always affected people. It h as played a role "at work, school, military installations, and social gatherings". Mostly women suffer from sexual harassment, however, men, children, and homosexuals are also targets of SH as well. The Internet has become a medium where people can be sexually harassed . "SH and offense on the Internet is considered a major obstacle to the free, legitimate, functional, and joyful use of the Net, as these acts drive away Net users as well as cause significant emotional harm and actual damage to those who remain users, whether by choice or by duty." In other words, despite all the positives of the Internet, bad exists, which causes harm and distress among the victim.
Offline Sexual Harassment
SH has largely been performed face to face in social environments. SH happens all over the world and is not limited to one culture or society. However, SH affects people in different ways. The authors state there are three categories of sexual harassment: gender, unwanted sexual attention and sexual coercion. Gender is verbal and visual comments that put down the person because of their gender. These are intended to give the person negative emotions. This could be in the form of sexual jokes, insults, posting pornography, and making gender degrading remarks. Sexual attention refers to behaviors that display sexual desire and are unwanted by the victim. This could be staring at a womans breasts or making statements that insinuate sexual activities or desires. Sexual coercion is putting sexual pressure on another person . This could be touching, bribing, or making threats.
Sexual Harassment in Cyberspace
The three above types of SH are also online, but most of SH tends to be in the form of gender harassment and unwanted sexual attention. Gender harassment is very common online. It may be verbal, which could be offensive sexual messages toward a victim. Messages may be gender humiliating, such as saying a woman shouldn't be in a forum but rather in the kitchen, sexual remarks, or dirty jokes. Based off of a study by Mitchell, Finkelhor and Wolak (2003), 62% of youth received unwanted sexualized email's, 92% from senders they did not know and 73% unintentionally visited the websites which were sex sites (pop up windows, clicking a link they didn't know what it was, etc).
Passive verbal SH online is less intrusive than the pop ups or messages described above. The individual who is performing this type of SH online doesn't necessarily target a specific person, rather potential receivers. Example depicted in the article describes user names in chats, forums, instant messaging, emails, etc, which are offensive and possibly demeaning.
SH online can be both passive and active. Active harassment can be intentionally sending pornographic materials to another individual online. The amount of offense the receiver takes, it upon the sensitivity of that receiver. Therefore, whether the person deems the material as SH, depends on their attitudes, sensitivity and preferences, as well as, the content of the materials.
SH online is different than face to face SH, because communication between the harasser and victim is not necessary. The sender may post a message, however, the victim does not necessarily has to respond. It is important to note, that these activities may also not be considered sexual harassment based on the context of the situation. For instance, if someone enters a chat room in order to meet a partner, and they have a screen name which can be considered lude in other contexts, and make sexual statements, would not necessarily be considered SH, as both individuals entered the room for a sexually driven purpose.
Cases and Prevalence of SH on the Internet
There have been numerous articles depicting the dangerousness of SH on the Internet, however, very little empirical studies have been completed. One British study found that 41% of Internet users were sent pornographic materials online. Another study found that 19% of youth, mostly girls, had some form of SH in the past year.
The Dynamics of SH on the Internet
SH behavior is based on the online interactions and situations to which they are a part of. Online disinhibition tends to lead to a person exposing more of their "true self" than they would, prior to feeling disinhibited. It has always been stated that SH is about power, not about sex. The same is true online. Getting someone to lower their inhibitions, is a powerful factor in leading to SH. Disinhibition, more openness, and an environment which can be more masculine, can lead to higher likelihood of SH behaviors, especially by men towards women. As well, people online tend to follow group standards. This leads to further disinhibition and forms the groundwork of SH behavior. It is almost as if there is a lack of clear boundaries. Online there isn't the set of rules necessarily to state that SH behavior is wrong and will not be tolerated, as there is in the work place. The lack of legal and social sanctions supports SH behavior.
Effects of SH on the Internet
The main effects SH has on the victims is avoidance of certain sites where the SH took place. As well, women tend to change their online presence after SH takes place. Much more empirical research needs to be done to assess the effects SH online has on individuals.
Prevention of SH on the Internet
The main message in preventing SH on the Internet is educating potential victims and harassers, as well, changing culture and norms. It is argued that behaviors and attitudes are based on the media and users perspective. However, targeting specific populations online is virtually impossible, due to the vastness of the Internet. Therefore, the best method would be educating people on SH, especially starting with the youth.
Conclusion
SH exists online as much as it exists online. The Internet provides a unique environment where SH can be easily facilitated. Legally enforcing the prevention of SH is virtually impossible, educating with prevention messages to people, especially youth, can help the reduction of SH.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Article Review #3
Title: Case Study, Child Seduction and Self Representation on the Internet
Authors: Ethel Quayle and Max Taylor
Journal: Cyber Psychology and Behavior, Volume 4, Number 5, 2001
The paper is a case study of a man, who was charged with downloading child pornography. He traded CP, located children to abuse, and to socialize online with other pedophiles. This is a behavioral look at offenders, and how the Internet plays a role in child victimization.
Intro:
There are four ways which pedophiles use the Internet for their sexual interest: traffic CP, locate kids to molest, engage in inappropriate sexualized communication with kids and to communication with other adults who have sexual interest in kids (pedophiles). This case study devuldged into the mind of a pedophile, and online activity. The individual utilized chat rooms, where he could undertake multiple persona's.
A typical cognition of these individuals, is the justification of their behaviors. They deny any possible injury towards the kid, and wish bad upon anyone who looks down upon their actions. Internet child pornography allows the user to further justify their actions, because they are not actually touching the child. As well, they can find like minded individuals to communicate with, therefore, do not need to worry about condemners. Like minded individuals will support and encourage their actions and behaviors. A lot of these individuals feel that this is the "more responsible way of dealing with their feelings than going out and trying to abuse 'real' children".
Pedophiles engage in this online because of accessibility, affordability, and anonymity of the Internet. The Internet makes available not only CP images and videos, but also communities of like minded individuals, erotica (images, videos or stories, which does not constitute child pornography, but is used by pedophiles to fulfill their sexual gratification; example: a child wearing underwear in provocative poses). Anonymity allows people to also say things they wouldn't normally say, and be various persona's (this is not just unique to CP users, but for all people...people tend to feel more free to say and do things they wouldn't otherwise do or say).
Case of Q.X.
The individual used for this case study was a 33 year old, single man. He is sex offender treatment program..He has struggled with depression. He has never had a successful relationship with an adult. He sought contact with boys ages 9-14.
A number of aspects of the Internet were asked to QX.
ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INTERNET
He bought a computer with the sole goal of accessing CP. He reported that finding CP was very easy and there was a wide variety. His first area of access CP on the Internet was on Newsgroups. He found out where to find the materials online, largely by the press. The first CP images that he saw was arousing and escalated downloading. "...so there was a bit of shock, but that went very quickly..I was very much hooked..."
PROGRESSION FROM NEWSGROUPS TO CHATROOMS
He quickly became bored with Newsgroups and switched to chatrooms. "...I became hooked on chat rooms rather than the initial Newsgroups". Chats were a place where QX could meet those who had similar interests as him, as well as view child pornography movies. Collecting movies became his primary interest. He stated that he became "numb" to images, and that the same images were repeatedly traded.
ASSUMING A CHILD PERSONA
QX quickly began portraying himself as a child. He stated he did this in order to increase the possibility of accessing kids. Children are more likely to talk to another child. Therefore, the pedophile pretending to really be a child increased the chance and amount of children who would talk to him. He tried multiple child persona's, he ultimately ended maintaining Joe, 11 year old boy, who had blue eyes and blonde hair. Interestingly, the author states, that Joe was very similar to how QX would have looked at this age. QX offline life is a teacher, wherefore, it was easy for him to act as the children he saw at school. The online persona enabled him to act out fantasies that he has had. The picture that he used of himself, was that of a young boy who was on the local cricket team. Activities in the chat rooms has many people who are also participating in the same activities, and supporting the behaviors.
Discussion
This case study showed how pedophiles use the Internet to facilitate relationships and find materials to fit their sexual desires. The main focus was on how finding an online persona and forming relationships with children, heightened his arousal. Participating with link minded people allowed for sexual expression and solicitation.
---
The main purpose of blogging about this article is to show how people act online. I think many people trust who they are speaking with online, however, as shown above, people lie about who they are. I think that not trusting strangers that one meets, especially in chat rooms, is a valuable lesson that people need to be informed about.
Authors: Ethel Quayle and Max Taylor
Journal: Cyber Psychology and Behavior, Volume 4, Number 5, 2001
The paper is a case study of a man, who was charged with downloading child pornography. He traded CP, located children to abuse, and to socialize online with other pedophiles. This is a behavioral look at offenders, and how the Internet plays a role in child victimization.
Intro:
There are four ways which pedophiles use the Internet for their sexual interest: traffic CP, locate kids to molest, engage in inappropriate sexualized communication with kids and to communication with other adults who have sexual interest in kids (pedophiles). This case study devuldged into the mind of a pedophile, and online activity. The individual utilized chat rooms, where he could undertake multiple persona's.
A typical cognition of these individuals, is the justification of their behaviors. They deny any possible injury towards the kid, and wish bad upon anyone who looks down upon their actions. Internet child pornography allows the user to further justify their actions, because they are not actually touching the child. As well, they can find like minded individuals to communicate with, therefore, do not need to worry about condemners. Like minded individuals will support and encourage their actions and behaviors. A lot of these individuals feel that this is the "more responsible way of dealing with their feelings than going out and trying to abuse 'real' children".
Pedophiles engage in this online because of accessibility, affordability, and anonymity of the Internet. The Internet makes available not only CP images and videos, but also communities of like minded individuals, erotica (images, videos or stories, which does not constitute child pornography, but is used by pedophiles to fulfill their sexual gratification; example: a child wearing underwear in provocative poses). Anonymity allows people to also say things they wouldn't normally say, and be various persona's (this is not just unique to CP users, but for all people...people tend to feel more free to say and do things they wouldn't otherwise do or say).
Case of Q.X.
The individual used for this case study was a 33 year old, single man. He is sex offender treatment program..He has struggled with depression. He has never had a successful relationship with an adult. He sought contact with boys ages 9-14.
A number of aspects of the Internet were asked to QX.
ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INTERNET
He bought a computer with the sole goal of accessing CP. He reported that finding CP was very easy and there was a wide variety. His first area of access CP on the Internet was on Newsgroups. He found out where to find the materials online, largely by the press. The first CP images that he saw was arousing and escalated downloading. "...so there was a bit of shock, but that went very quickly..I was very much hooked..."
PROGRESSION FROM NEWSGROUPS TO CHATROOMS
He quickly became bored with Newsgroups and switched to chatrooms. "...I became hooked on chat rooms rather than the initial Newsgroups". Chats were a place where QX could meet those who had similar interests as him, as well as view child pornography movies. Collecting movies became his primary interest. He stated that he became "numb" to images, and that the same images were repeatedly traded.
ASSUMING A CHILD PERSONA
QX quickly began portraying himself as a child. He stated he did this in order to increase the possibility of accessing kids. Children are more likely to talk to another child. Therefore, the pedophile pretending to really be a child increased the chance and amount of children who would talk to him. He tried multiple child persona's, he ultimately ended maintaining Joe, 11 year old boy, who had blue eyes and blonde hair. Interestingly, the author states, that Joe was very similar to how QX would have looked at this age. QX offline life is a teacher, wherefore, it was easy for him to act as the children he saw at school. The online persona enabled him to act out fantasies that he has had. The picture that he used of himself, was that of a young boy who was on the local cricket team. Activities in the chat rooms has many people who are also participating in the same activities, and supporting the behaviors.
Discussion
This case study showed how pedophiles use the Internet to facilitate relationships and find materials to fit their sexual desires. The main focus was on how finding an online persona and forming relationships with children, heightened his arousal. Participating with link minded people allowed for sexual expression and solicitation.
---
The main purpose of blogging about this article is to show how people act online. I think many people trust who they are speaking with online, however, as shown above, people lie about who they are. I think that not trusting strangers that one meets, especially in chat rooms, is a valuable lesson that people need to be informed about.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Article Review #2
My second article review for Tech 621 is titled Internet Prevention Messages: Targeting the Right Online Behaviors. The purpose of the article is to examine if sharing personal information online leads to victimization. The article further provides tips for pediatricians to assess children's online behaviors and how to talk to children about their online activities.
BACKGROUND: There were a few interesting statistics which started this article. The authors stated that 9% of youth are estimated to be targets of harassment, and 13% are targets of unwanted sexual solicitation. Being a victim can lead to psychological problems, such as depression, distress, and victimization offline. Pediatricians are usually asked to consult on children's online safety.
The article focuses on 5 online behavior for this survey. Disclosure of personal information, aggressive behavior, talking with unknown people, sexual behavior, and downloading images using file-sharing programs. The research questions were: what are the prevalence rates of risky behaviors, Are behaviors which are targeted in safety prevention messages associated with online victimization, do psychology and behavioral problems account for these associations, and does the total number of online behaviors engaged in affect the association between specific behaviors and victimization.
METHODS: The sample was taken from the Second Youth Internet Safety Survey (YISS-2). The survey was conducted on the phone, over a 3 month period. 1500 youth were interviewed for this sample. They had to be English speaking and used the Internet for the past 6 months, at least once a month. The ages ranged between 10-17, with the mean being 14.2.
MEASURES:
Online behaviors- this section of the questions asked if the children posted personal information, such as name, phone number, school name, age or year born, and/or pictures. Aggressive online behaviors were asked if the children ever made rude or nasty comments to someone online, or harassed or embarrassed someone that they were mad at. They were also asked if they met people online that they did not know in person.
Online interpersonal victimization- this section included unwanted sexual solicitation or harassment online.
Psychological and behavioral problems- this section asked if they had been sexually or physically abused on and offline. The abused could include being attached, hit, jumped, hit by peers, picked on by peers. They were also asked how frequently a caregiver nagged, yelled, or took away their privileges.
Internet use and demographics- this section asked how often the child was online (days/week and hours/day). They were also asked how often they blogged, used instant messaging and chat rooms.
Questions were asked in either a yes/no format or on a 4-point likert scale.
RESULTS: one in five (20%) of the children had unwanted interpersonal victimization in the past year. 75% of the respondents had engaged in at least one of the behaviors being assessed. Nearly 30% engaged in 4 or more types of online behaviors in the past year. The most common online behavior was disclosure of personal information: posting personal information, which was done by 55% of the sample. The next common behavior was meeting someone online, which was done by 43% of the sample. The least common behavior was talking about sex with someone known only online. In regards to sending personal information, the most common posting was disclosure of age/year born.
The article concludes by providing advice. The best statement, in my opinion, of the article, was: "many types of online behaviors considered risky are becoming normative." Over half of the sample has given some sort of personal information, which validates the prior statement. The authors also provide, what they believe, to be an effect approach to discussing online dangers with youth..."I know many young people your age are meeting people online. You probably know how easy it is to hide your identity. be careful and know that you can discontinue a relationship any time by changing your login name or blocking someone...Acknowledge too, that some online relationship can be positive and a source of social support; nevertheless, wariness is warranted. We need to acknowledge the online world youth are living in and arm them with the tools to reduce the risk that some of their behaviors may entail."
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My thoughts on this article: I really enjoyed this article. I think it provided good tips and insights into how children are behaving online. As the article states, risky behaviors are now becoming normal to youth. It is not a good message to say...don't talk to strangers online, because that is unrealistic, but it is best to tell children facts about online crimes and how to be safe and avoid becoming a victim. The only thing I didn't like about the article, was the talk about pediatricians talking to children about online crimes. I think if that is the only one available, then that is fine, however, I believe that law enforcement officers or other advocates should be delivering the message. A lot more research needs to be done in this area. There is very limited research available currently. More needs to be done to understand online crimes, psychological aspects, and victimization. It would be interesting to see this article replicated and see how the statistics ended. I personally feel that the results may not be 100% accurate, for a few reasons. If someone is asking you a question that you are embarrassed about or didn't want to own up to, chances are you won't be truthful. There wasn't a way to measure lying in this study. For instance, if a child had been a bully, but their parent was standing near the phone and could hear the responses, the child may not say that they have bullied someone before, in fear that they would be in trouble. Perhaps, if the study was done again, using the Internet to assess children, the results may be different. It would be VERY interesting to see the results. All in all, I really enjoyed this article.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Article Review
I was recently given an article, which was very interesting. It is titled Use of Social Networking Sites in Online Sex Crimes Against Minors: An Examination of National Incidence and Means of Utilization by Kimberly Mitchell, David Kindlehor, Lisa Jones, and Janis Wolak, Journal of Adolescent Health 47 (2010), pages 183-190.
This article studied law enforcements incidents with crimes against children, regarding social networking sites. The purpose of this study, the authors felt, was to display the truth of crimes against children statistics, because the media has led people to have misconceptions about these crimes. The authors state that sex crimes against children have actually decreased, since the mid-1990s. However, in my opinion, I believe that any "decline" is due to the fact that this crime is typically unreported...leading the true statistics incredibly under-representative of the true nature. I believe the under-reporting rate is due to a number of reasons:
1. There is stigma attached to being a victim of this type of crime
2. Predators have gotten smarter and are great manipulators. Once they have gotten what they want, whether it be a photograph or a sexual encounter with a child, they are very skilled at manipulating the child into thinking that this action is normal, and should happen again. As well, the predators are great at blackmailing, and scaring the kids into continually doing the act. They may say...I will tell people what you did, if you don't do it again. The kid, being afraid of their friends and family finding out, will continue to do the act in silence.
3. Some kids like the attention they receive from these older men. They may think that this guy giving them all this attention online, isn't a "bad guy", rather a good guy that makes them feel good about themselves. They may not see a problem with the act, therefore, will never report it or tell their parents.
4. The kid believes the guy is a good guy, and doesn't want them to get into trouble. The pedophiles are skilled at manipulating children into believing that they have good intentions and that people just "don't understand them".
This article provided some good statistical findings. They interviewed law enforcement agencies. The first round was via questionnaire and the second via phone. The statistics which stuck out to me are:
1. The predator used SNSs to initiate a relationship with the child. They may not utilize the SNS to disseminate pornography, or to set up a meeting instantly, but they used these sites to start a TRUSTING relationship. These guys often use the sites to seem "cool" to the kid. Hey we have this in common or that in common. It is a way to show who "they are" and seem normal to the kids. It is also a way to get to know who the kids are. Kids often share their entire life on these sites, sometimes even their phone number or address. This is a starting point for these predators. They may move to chatrooms, texting, or phone calls. This was done in 50% of victim involved cases.
2. 72% of the cases, the predator used SNSs to send messages to the victim. I believe this is part of the grooming process, same as number 1. However, messages, and SNS "chats" helps to further build a relationship with the child. Builds "trust".
3. In 69% of the cases, predators utilized the sites to get information on the victim. I believe the true statistic to be much higher. However, I believe a lot of predators wouldn't be honest about it. When anyone looks at someones SNS profile, they look at the likes, interests, school, whereabouts, relationship status, photographs, etc. A predator would use this to gain trust in the victim. They (predators) are good at using this for their advantage. They may talk to the kid and say "Oh I love Plain White T's, what about you". They may only be saying that because the kid is a fan of the band, or has them listed in their interests. The kid, not realizing that this is posted on their site, may think, oh wow, we have a lot in common. They don't realize that the predator is doing this to manipulate, gain trust, and groom the child.
Children need to learn the behaviors of these individuals. They need to know what these guys are REALLY doing and motivations they have. If a 30 year old man is "facebooking" a 14/15 year old, they need to not be flattered, and realize that this is NOT normal and NOT ok. They need to not trust these guys and learn to keep their guard up. I truly believe that any decline in statistics is due to a decline in reporting as well. These predators are getting smarter and smarter. They are learning how to manipulate better and hide their actions, so that they go unnoticed by law enforcement.
This article studied law enforcements incidents with crimes against children, regarding social networking sites. The purpose of this study, the authors felt, was to display the truth of crimes against children statistics, because the media has led people to have misconceptions about these crimes. The authors state that sex crimes against children have actually decreased, since the mid-1990s. However, in my opinion, I believe that any "decline" is due to the fact that this crime is typically unreported...leading the true statistics incredibly under-representative of the true nature. I believe the under-reporting rate is due to a number of reasons:
1. There is stigma attached to being a victim of this type of crime
2. Predators have gotten smarter and are great manipulators. Once they have gotten what they want, whether it be a photograph or a sexual encounter with a child, they are very skilled at manipulating the child into thinking that this action is normal, and should happen again. As well, the predators are great at blackmailing, and scaring the kids into continually doing the act. They may say...I will tell people what you did, if you don't do it again. The kid, being afraid of their friends and family finding out, will continue to do the act in silence.
3. Some kids like the attention they receive from these older men. They may think that this guy giving them all this attention online, isn't a "bad guy", rather a good guy that makes them feel good about themselves. They may not see a problem with the act, therefore, will never report it or tell their parents.
4. The kid believes the guy is a good guy, and doesn't want them to get into trouble. The pedophiles are skilled at manipulating children into believing that they have good intentions and that people just "don't understand them".
This article provided some good statistical findings. They interviewed law enforcement agencies. The first round was via questionnaire and the second via phone. The statistics which stuck out to me are:
1. The predator used SNSs to initiate a relationship with the child. They may not utilize the SNS to disseminate pornography, or to set up a meeting instantly, but they used these sites to start a TRUSTING relationship. These guys often use the sites to seem "cool" to the kid. Hey we have this in common or that in common. It is a way to show who "they are" and seem normal to the kids. It is also a way to get to know who the kids are. Kids often share their entire life on these sites, sometimes even their phone number or address. This is a starting point for these predators. They may move to chatrooms, texting, or phone calls. This was done in 50% of victim involved cases.
2. 72% of the cases, the predator used SNSs to send messages to the victim. I believe this is part of the grooming process, same as number 1. However, messages, and SNS "chats" helps to further build a relationship with the child. Builds "trust".
3. In 69% of the cases, predators utilized the sites to get information on the victim. I believe the true statistic to be much higher. However, I believe a lot of predators wouldn't be honest about it. When anyone looks at someones SNS profile, they look at the likes, interests, school, whereabouts, relationship status, photographs, etc. A predator would use this to gain trust in the victim. They (predators) are good at using this for their advantage. They may talk to the kid and say "Oh I love Plain White T's, what about you". They may only be saying that because the kid is a fan of the band, or has them listed in their interests. The kid, not realizing that this is posted on their site, may think, oh wow, we have a lot in common. They don't realize that the predator is doing this to manipulate, gain trust, and groom the child.
Children need to learn the behaviors of these individuals. They need to know what these guys are REALLY doing and motivations they have. If a 30 year old man is "facebooking" a 14/15 year old, they need to not be flattered, and realize that this is NOT normal and NOT ok. They need to not trust these guys and learn to keep their guard up. I truly believe that any decline in statistics is due to a decline in reporting as well. These predators are getting smarter and smarter. They are learning how to manipulate better and hide their actions, so that they go unnoticed by law enforcement.
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