The Internet Safety Technical Task Force to the Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking of State Attorneys General of the United States has released a report on the risks that exist online for kids in the US.
Some of the findings:
- Bullying and harassment, most often by peers, are the most frequent threats that minors face, both online and offline.
- The Internet increases the availability of harmful, problematic and illegal content, but does not always increase minors’ exposure.
- Social network sites are not the most common space for solicitation and unwanted exposure to problematic content, but are frequently used in peer-to-peer harassment, most likely because they are broadly adopted by minors and are used primarily to reinforce pre-existing social relations.
- Minors are not equally at risk online. Those who are most at risk often engage in risky behaviors and have difficulties in other parts of their lives. The psychosocial makeup of and family dynamics surrounding particular minors are better predictors of risk than the use of specific media or technologies.
- Although much is known about these issues, many areas still require further research. For example, too little is known about the interplay among risks and the role that minors themselves play in contributing to unsafe environments.
So it seems to me that the online realm is not anything special, it is an extension of the offline world. While there may be some kids who take more risks online than off, the ones that we have to be really concerned about are likely showing some signs offline as well.
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