January 13, 2009
“Report Calls Online Threats to Children Overblown”
HISTORY: “The Internet Safety Technical Task Force was created in February 2008 in accordance with the Joint Statement on Key Principles of Social Networking Safety announced in January 2008 by the Attorneys General Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking and MySpace. The scope of the Task Force's inquiry was to consider those technologies that industry and end users - including parents - can use to help keep minors safer on the Internet.” [Quoted from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University]
REPORT: Today the task force published its final report, a comprehensive 278 page document including reports from both the Technical Advisory Board and the Research Advisory Board (of which I am a member).
COMMENTS: Several points in the report were striking and important:
1. The Research Advisory Board completed a thorough literature review (included in the report) which concluded that based on the best peer-reviewed research, using both national and regional samples, the moral panic caused by the media in general, and television shows such as NBC’s “To Catch a Predator,” are completely overblown. The research showed consistently that the actual threat of adult predators enticing unsuspecting teens into sexual encounters was essentially nonexistent. When teens are approached online with a sexual solicitation, most often it is from other adolescents and not sexual offenders or trolling adults. In addition, as all of my research has shown, the report confirmed that even when teens are approached, more than 90% of the responses are appropriate.
2. In spite of the research showing that sexual predators are not roaming the Internet, the news media and other agencies continue to wave a red flag touting these dangers. In a study in progress by my research team, we are examining the mentions of various online issues such as sexual predators, cyberbullying, Internet addition, and pornography with respect to both the Internet in general and MySpace in particular. Using circulation figures, we chose the top 20 newspapers, television news shows, and general interest magazines and tallied the number of times any of these issues were mentioned between 2002 and 2008. Although the 2008 data collection has not been completed we have found a consistent, startling trend of a dramatic increase in negative media. Between 2005 – two years after the opening of MySpace and after it had begun its dramatic rise in membership – and 2008, the number of unique newspaper articles or news stories on Internet “problems” increased 1600% and stories on MySpace problems increased 1100%! The graph below shows some of these results from newspaper articles.
The complete report should be available soon.
3. The area of cyberbullying is complex since no clear definition is applied to all research studies. However, according to the report, “online harassment or cyberbullying happens to a significant minority of youth, is sometimes distressing, and is frequently correlated with other risky behaviors and disconcerting psychosocial problems.” The report also goes on to admit that “this risk is the most common risk that minors face online.”
4. A third issue, exposure to “problematic content” (read pornography) may be prevalent but one sample national study which found 42% of youth reported unwanted or wanted exposure. Two thirds of those exposed reported that they did not want to see the porn but only 9% were very or extremely upset.
5. The Technology Advisory Board reviewed 40 different submitted technologies to keep children safe online. The board concluded that no single technology could keep kids safe online and that “there is no substitute for a parent, caregiver, or other responsible adult actively guiding and supporting a child in safe Internet usage.”
Overall, I would like to commend the task force for being even handed in its balanced assessment of available technologies with research results. I also feel that, as I have said often and noted throughout my book, Me, MySpace, and I: Parenting the Net Generation, no technology should be used as a substitute for good parenting practices. Parents must be aware of what their children are doing online and discuss potential problems in advance whenever possible. When unanticipated problems do arise, parents should be ready to deal with those problems by establishing rules and consequences for any misbehavior online. Both proactive parenting (in advance of problems) and reactive parenting (after a problem occurs) should be dealt with using sound “Authoritative Parenting” techniques which include setting limits and consequences for behavior (or misbehavior) within a loving, caring context where children are allowed and encouraged to express their opinions about both the problems and their solutions. Authoritative Parenting has been shown to lead to positive outcomes in many areas including our latest studies of the relationship between Internet and MySpace behaviors and parenting style. Children of Authoritative Parents are more successful in school, psychologically healthier, and face fewer online behavioral problems.
