Binary Wolves In Sheep’s Clothing

Despite all of the media sensationalism aimed toward online predators (think NBC’s To Catch a Predator), year after year brings us more bad news when it comes to those who use the Internet to stalk our children. It is a fact that three-fourths of children are willing to exchange personal information with someone online – someone who they absolutely do not know. Further, one out of every five children who use the Internet frequently has been solicited in a sexual manner either by e-mail or instant message.

Alarming Statistics

One in four children have received unwanted pornographic material from someone they “met” on the Internet. In an average year, one out of 33 children will be subjected to a “forceful” solicitation of a sexual nature – meaning a request to meet in person, contact by way of the telephone, or receiving correspondence or gifts through the mail. Over 80 percent of those who are targeted by predators are in the same age group (13 to 14 years old).

Taking Proactive Steps

The saddest of all the numbers: Only one out of four children who have received such advances from online predators have gone ahead and reported it – and only one-third of parents have taken extra steps to protect their kids. This is why they may want to consider taking the extra step of installing spyware. It gives them the best insight into their children’s online activities, and can be immeasurably valuable in protecting young people from those who seek to harm them. And getting top spy software.

Children may believe themselves to be smarter and more tech savvy than their parents – it’s a common affliction, actually, among school-age kids. They may also possess a great deal of self-confidence as they approach young adulthood. Their brash self-assuredness aside, they still need their parents to protect them (even if they disagree about that), just as they will still need to use their parents’ washer and dryer long after they have left for college – if not the keys to the car.