Bullies, Not Sexual Predators, Are the Biggest Threat for Children Online

The Internet Safety Technical Task Force at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University has concluded after a year of research that online threats to children mirror offline threats and “the problem of bullying among children, both online and offline, poses a far more serious challenge than the sexual solicitation of minors by adults.”

The task force, which was chaired by John Palfrey, released its final report, Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies (PDF), to the Multi-State Working Group on Social Networking of State Attorneys General of the United States.

The study also suggested that no one technology is adequate to safeguard children online and “a combination of technologies, in concert with parental oversight, education, social services, law enforcement, and sound policies by social-network sites and service providers, may assist in addressing specific problems that minors face online.”

John Palfrey has been advocating a balanced approach to look at the online activity of youngsters for a while now. In this great 75 minute Authors@Google talk, for instance, he gives an overview of his book ‘Born Digital’ which deals with similar issues –

Brad Stone at NYT reports that Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut attorney general, who has forcefully pursued the issue and helped to create the task force, said that the report “downplayed the predator threat, relied on outdated research and failed to provide a specific plan for improving the safety of social networking”.

Social networking websites can be an easy target for conservatives, but it’s clear from the report that the problem lies as much offline as online and the solutions are far from simple.

Published on January 14, 2009 in Tags: , , , , , , , , .. View Comments
  • Excellent post Guarav, and nice comment Ben!
    I think everyone needs to take a step back and realize this: the same media that hyped Internet predators on social networks is now glorifying obvious results (to those of us embedded in the issue) that show the fears are overblown and that cyberbullying is a bigger issue.

    Bottom line: The predators do exist, but the threat of cyberbullying is far greater. Predators we have to hunt down and lock up. Cyberbullies live in your home. The real message here is parental involvement and awareness. Know how your child acts online towards others and how they participate in the digital world. Know where they go and who they talk to and how. You don’t have to spy and analyze, but you should simply know.

    I firmly believe that we could take a huge step towards a ‘nicer’ internet and less bullying if every parent today just said “no more” and went back to basics with their parenting messages: Play nice with others. I ranted a bit here is you are interested: http://blog.pcpandora.com/2009/01/15/internet-p...
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    Trust but verify. Know what your child is doing online. Visit www.pcpandora.com to learn about one tool that helps parents KNOW…
  • Thanks for the post, Gaurav,

    I’m sorry the headlines on this article allow people to draw the wrong conclusions, like “Threats exaggerated.” It’s a mistake to base decisions on comparisons stating that cyberbullying isn’t much worse than other bullying. Or that it’s important to state that there’s no easy solution. What a waste of time and money.

    Cyberbullies and predators on social networking sites will be with us forever. Of course we’ll find some software to help, but you can never guarantee safety in the real world. Wanting absolute safety is the wrong approach.

    And of course there’s no easy solution. No one is really dumb enough to think there’s an easy solution. No amount of software will make the internet any safer than giving your money to Bernard Madoff or crossing the street.

    Don’t pay attention to the pseudo-science of the report. We must pay attention to our individual kids and teach them that “friends” on social sites aren’t really friends, they’re merely virtual acquaintances. Dealing with virtual people is much more difficult than dealing with people face-to-face. And we all know how difficult that can be.

    There are no safe environments. That was the message I always got from reading the great hero stories when I was growing up. And each tale challenged me to prepare myself for similar dangers.

    Schools and the real world have never been safe. I remember a biography of Harpo Marx (remember the Marx Brothers). He went to school for one day. The kids threw him out the window (first floor). He came back in. They threw him out again. After the third time he didn't go back in. And never did again.

    Schools and social networks are testing grounds for the real world. And the real world is not and should not be safe. Facing risks and danger helps us develop good sense, good character and the qualities necessary to survive. Imagine growing up on a farm, in an wilderness village or in the middle ages. Not safe. I grew up in New York City. Not safe. Millennia ago we had to learn what a saber-toothed tiger’s foot prints looked like and how long ago they were left. The world still requires survival skills, even if different ones.

    Parents have the responsibility to monitor and guide children and teenagers. Of course kids will object. How many of us thought our parents were right when they tried to limit what we wanted to do? We must be wise enough as parents to know best and strong enough to stand up to the kids’ anger.

    Bullies are not all the same, but their patterns of behavior, their tactics, are the same. That’s why we can find ways to stop most of them. Sometimes, fighting is the key to success. If we don’t stop bullies, they’ll think we’re easy prey. Like sharks, they’ll just go after us more.

    When children learn how to stop bullies in their tracks, they’ll develop strength of character, determination, resilience and skill. They’ll need these qualities to succeed against the real world bullies they’ll face as adults.

    Disclosure: In addition to having six children, I’m a practical, pragmatic coach and consultant. Check out my website and blog (http://www.BulliesBeGone.com). I’ve written the books, “How to Stop Bullies in their Tracks” and “Parenting Bully-Proof Kids,” and recorded a 10-CD set of these books.

    Best wishes,
    Ben
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