Conversing Over the Internet Talking or Stalking?
News Item: Rosen, Amy, P. 6th March 2008
“Danger Lurks as Youths Head on to the Internet”, http://atlanticville.gmnews.com/news/2008/0306/Front_page/023.html
Word Count: ????
A Presentation of the Issue
Talking to peers through internet chat rooms and instant messaging (IM) is the latest sensation among today’s adolescents and preteens, with 75% of teenagers using instant messaging and 48% of them accessing it on a daily basis (Rosen, 2008). These programs provide an ideal environment for people to talk to friends and meet people from around the world and share common interests. Statistics show that the average teenager has thirty people on their instant messaging contact list, ten of which they have never met offline (Mader, 2005). The average person spends 4.7 hours a week using these services (Mader, 2005).
The behaviour of people using these programs and websites can be less than respectable. Nearly four in ten (39%) teenagers have pretended to be someone else and 31% say something online that they wouldn’t have said in person (Rosen, 2008). Mostly this misconduct is due to the lack of parental supervision. 72% of parents are unaware that their children use IM programs (Mader, 2005); 42% of parents don’t check what their child types in chat rooms and IM (Davis; Grabert, 2005) and 95% of parents don’t know the meaning of common slang used by kids to warn when their parents are watching, e.g. POS (parent over shoulder) and P911 (parent alert) (Davis; Grabert, 2005).
However, the anonymity of these sites as well as the lack of parental supervision creates the perfect hunting ground for paedophiles. Of children who use the internet, 45% are asked for personal information by someone they don’t know, 30% consider meeting in person someone they don’t know and 14% actually meet in real life a person they met online, only 18% tell an adult about a person who... [continues]
News Item: Rosen, Amy, P. 6th March 2008
“Danger Lurks as Youths Head on to the Internet”, http://atlanticville.gmnews.com/news/2008/0306/Front_page/023.html
Word Count: ????
A Presentation of the Issue
Talking to peers through internet chat rooms and instant messaging (IM) is the latest sensation among today’s adolescents and preteens, with 75% of teenagers using instant messaging and 48% of them accessing it on a daily basis (Rosen, 2008). These programs provide an ideal environment for people to talk to friends and meet people from around the world and share common interests. Statistics show that the average teenager has thirty people on their instant messaging contact list, ten of which they have never met offline (Mader, 2005). The average person spends 4.7 hours a week using these services (Mader, 2005).
The behaviour of people using these programs and websites can be less than respectable. Nearly four in ten (39%) teenagers have pretended to be someone else and 31% say something online that they wouldn’t have said in person (Rosen, 2008). Mostly this misconduct is due to the lack of parental supervision. 72% of parents are unaware that their children use IM programs (Mader, 2005); 42% of parents don’t check what their child types in chat rooms and IM (Davis; Grabert, 2005) and 95% of parents don’t know the meaning of common slang used by kids to warn when their parents are watching, e.g. POS (parent over shoulder) and P911 (parent alert) (Davis; Grabert, 2005).
However, the anonymity of these sites as well as the lack of parental supervision creates the perfect hunting ground for paedophiles. Of children who use the internet, 45% are asked for personal information by someone they don’t know, 30% consider meeting in person someone they don’t know and 14% actually meet in real life a person they met online, only 18% tell an adult about a person who... [continues]
Cite This Essay
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(2008, 10). Peadophilia in Chat Rooms and Im. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 2008, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Peadophilia-Chat-Rooms-Im-166911.html
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"Peadophilia in Chat Rooms and Im" StudyMode.com. 10 2008. 10 2008 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Peadophilia-Chat-Rooms-Im-166911.html>.
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"Peadophilia in Chat Rooms and Im." StudyMode.com. 10, 2008. Accessed 10, 2008. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Peadophilia-Chat-Rooms-Im-166911.html.
