The well known British television psychologist Tanya Byron has something very important to say about teenagers and internet usage. She says: Letting your kids use the web completely unsupervised is like opening your own door and saying ‘They don’t know how to cross the road but they’ll work it out’. Teenagers are increasingly being lured into the alluring world of the internet, where they are willingly revealing personal information to complete strangers, and are completely nonchalant about it. It was previously thought that teenagers were duped into revealing personal information by sexual predators posing as teenagers themselves. But recent studies have shown that in most cases, these teenagers are aware that they are creating online friendships with complete strangers, and chatting with adults more than double their age. In spite of knowing these things, they are blissfully ignorant of the dangers of the internet. In spite of constant parental monitoring, a number of teenagers are falling prey to online sexual predators, and are becoming victims of child abuse. With the advent and widespread usage of social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn and Orkut, teenagers have become more vulnerable to the dangers of the internet.

According to Pew Internet & American Life study, 74% of high school age children in the United States use the Internet regularly. By the time kids reach high school, they’re likely to know as much or more about the Internet than do their parents. Teens use the Internet for schoolwork, communication and social networking, finding and downloading music, playing games, and shopping for everything from clothing to electronics products. But although they know their way around the Internet, they may lack the judgment and emotional maturity to steer clear of trouble. Teens are, after all, children. And children are vulnerable.

The results of a recent survey have brought scary facts to the limelight: Many teens are unconcerned about the dangers of sharing personal info online. A majority of teens (58%) do not think posting photos or other personal info on social networking sites is unsafe. Nearly half of teens (47%) are not worried about others using their personal info in ways they do not want (although that represents a 10-percentage-point improvement over 2006). About half (49%) are unconcerned posting personal info online might negatively affect their future. A large majority of teens (71%) have established online profiles (including those on social networking sites such as MySpace, Friendster and Xanga), up from 61% in 2006. 69% of teens regularly receive personal messages online from people they do not know and most of them do not tell a trusted adult about it. Teens readily post personal information online. 64% post photos or videos of themselves, while more than half (58%) post info about where they live. Females are far more likely than male teens to post personal photos or videos of themselves (70% vs. 58%). Nearly one in 10 teens (8%) has posted his or her cell phone number online. Overall, 19% of teens report they have been harassed or bullied online, and the incidence of online harassment is higher (23%) among 16 and 17 year-olds. Girls are more likely to be harassed or bullied than boys (21% vs. 17%).

The only solution to this frightening problem seems to be proper vigilance, and controlled monitoring of teenager’s online activity. Professor Tanya Byron sums up best by saying “In the end, it’s down to the parents to protect their children, whether it’s online or on the street“.


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