Dangers: Predators

Although we assume that there are predators out there, we often find ourselves thinking that they are targeting "other children" and that ours are not on their radar.

Statistically, this is the truth. Most children will not become the target of an online predator. However, every child is a "potential" target and the online selection process dictates that "a child" will become every predators target even if "every child" will not.

The important thing to acknowledge is that our ability to wish our children into the safe side of the statistic is not a realistic way to assure their safety. It is the responsibility of the parent to stay informed and alert in the off chance that their child does become targeted.

Predators have changed over the years. We're no longer on the lookout for a man in the park offering candy from his pocket. We're now faced with children spending significant amounts of time on the internet. They are posting pictures and blog and personal information about themselves, their families, their schools, friends, and habits.

This information is what takes the predator out of the park and parks him behind the keyboard. No longer does he have to expose himself in public and be watched while selecting his target. He is now granted unmonitored access to the lives and habits of our children. To further his ability to blend in, a 25yr old man can easily "become" a 13 or 14yr old girl by simply creating a profile and uploading a picture he took from anywhere else on the internet.

Using this profile, he can initiate contact with the child he is targeting. Using the information provided by their profile and blogs, he knows what "interests" them and what triggers a response. This allows him an "in" to their lives that would have never existed if they saw him on the street.

To take this one step further, a predator may never initiate online contact with the child. It is often easy to simply cross reference locations (hangouts/schools/etc) and follow blogs/twitters to determine WHEN and WHERE the children will be unsupervised because they have posted information about "sneaking out" and meeting up. Of course they were assuming only their irl (irl=in real life) friends would get and use that information. However, a predator can use this for nightmarish purposes.


Todays Lesson: Nothing is as it seems on the internet.
People can be anything. We need to know this. We need to make sure our children know this. This hearkens back to the saying "I saw it on the internet, it must be true!"