Sexual predators online - know your enemy

Internet safety is a recurring concern for all parents, one that affects web use in schools. So I was very interested to see the following story posted on BoingBoing: Sexual predators online - the real story

Kids do get preyed upon, but not in the way that it's depicted in the media, and none of the cell-phone-tracking, spyware-installing fear-based parenting does squat to protect them. If you want to keep your kids safe, you need to know what you're keeping them safe from.

This article links to another story with links to long-ish, boring-ish YouTube videos of experts testifying (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9).

The broad conclusion make a lot of sense. Forget about violent encounters with predator child pornographers trying to lure your young children into meeting under false pretenses. It just does not happen often enough to worry about. The real danger is neither surprising nor new. The most common form of on-line sexual predators are adults seducing teenagers into consensual relations. The same teenagers who are at risk of running away from home are the ones who are most at risk of falling prey to the old fashioned statutory rape by lecherous adults. These adults are up front about their intentions, and prey on the teenager's age old needs for attention, romance, and risk.

I had never thought of it that way. But it makes total sense. Especially to this parent of two teenagers!