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Hi again. Sorry second long message for the day - and same theme. I suppose you all heard the news of the 29,000 predators on MySpace. The Internet fear-mongerers have and will jump on this statistic. I wrote an op ed about this that I submitted to the NY Times. But I thought I would let you all see this also. Here it is: Lions, Tigers, and Predators on MySpace, Oh My! The popular social networking site, MySpace, has recently identified and removed the profiles of 29,000 registered sex offenders from its site. In response to this responsible action, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, stated, "The exploding epidemic of sex offender profiles on MySpace--29,000 and counting--screams for action." His statement went further called for age verification and parental permission systems to protect young people from this ³clear and present danger.² Age verification systems and parental permission will not effectively address the concern of online sexual predators. And the fear-mongering by Mr. Blumenthal and others is only making matters worse. As a result of such fear-mongering, many adults are primed to overreact to any report regarding problems online. Teens know this and, as a result, they are less inclined to discuss Internet concerns with adults. There are predators in the real world. There are predators online. Parents must protect younger children and prepare teens to make safe choices and effectively respond to dangerous situations in the real world and online. An age verification approach would only work if we instituted government-issued identification for all minors. Not only would such a system be exceptionally expensive, this approach would also lead to massive concerns of identity theft. Parents who are appropriately involved in the lives of their children talk with them about their online activities, know what they are doing, and pay attention to what they are posting and who their online friends are. These parents make sure the computer is in a public area of the house, so they can look over their childrenıs shoulder from time to time. Most importantly, involved parents discuss concerns about risky sexual activity online. They do not allow participation on social networking sites until their children are old enough to discuss these concerns. Involved parents provide guidance on how to avoid posting material or engaging in activities that might attract the attention of someone with inappropriate intentions. They warn their children about people (strangers or not) who send overly-friendly messages, tell them how ³hot² they are, offer gifts or opportunities, or try to become a ³special friend.² They discuss appropriate responses to any concerning situations that might arise. And they promise not to overreact if their child reports a concern. No age verification or parent permission system on a social networking site can ever take the place of an appropriately involved parent. Nor will such systems encourage such a level of parental involvement. ³Quick fix² solutions only lead to false security. Teens whose parents do not understand these issues or who are not appropriately involved in their lives are clearly at greater risk online. We must help these teens and their parents gain a greater understanding of the risks and important protection strategies. Schools, libraries, religious institutions, community groups, and others can all do a better job of providing such education. The educational approach itself is important. Internet safety messages that impart fear and simplistic solutions are also not the answer. Young people will be posting personal information online. They need to know how to protect their personal contact information and not to post material that creates the perception of vulnerability, an interest in sex, or could damage their reputation and future opportunities. Young people will be communicating with online strangers. They must know how to assess the safety of those they meet online. Lastly, we need to encourage teens to make sure their friends are making safe choices online and to tell an adult if they know that someone is at significant risk. Friends donıt let friends hook up with online losers. Nancy -- Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D. Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use http://csriu.org http://cyberbully.org http://cyber-safe-kids.com nwillard@csriu.org Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Aggression, Threats, and Distress (Research Press) Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens: Helping Young People Learn to Use the Internet Safely and Responsibly (Jossey-Bass) -------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note: All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. You can prevent most e-mail filters from deleting LM_NET postings by adding LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU to your e-mail address book. 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