The Internet has now made communicating more convenient. Thanks to the presence of chatrooms and email service providers, more and more people are able to connect with each other on a real-time basis no matter how far apart they are from each other. The sad thing is that not all those who are using the communication tools over the Internet are harmless. The Internet has also become a prowling ground for sexual predators looking for their next victim.
Why Teenagers?
Teenagers are the most vulnerable when it comes to becoming a victim of sexual predators online. In fact, studies have shown that by the age of 14, about 77% of pre-teens and teenagers have been in contact with a sexual predator without them even knowing. This is because unlike other age groups, teenagers are in constant search of meeting new people who share their likes and dislikes. They are also more keen in trying to reach out to people who would listen and console them especially when it comes to conflict with their parents.
How a Predator Uses the Internet
Online predators would often come across as an ear that would listen and a shoulder that lonely teenagers would be able to come to when they need to be consoled. Predators would sign up to join forums and chat rooms whose primary purpose is to provide an outlet for teenagers. Because many of these chat rooms and forums allow their users to remain anonymous through the use of a chat name or forum name, predators are able to mask their true identity.
The first thing that an online predator would do is to gain your teenager’s trust. They do this by offering them advise when it comes to problems in the family, school, boyfriend/girlfriend and friends. Many times, they would side with the teenager in order to further gain their trust and confidence. Once they see that the teenager is already extremely comfortable enough to give out personal information to these online predators, this is when they would strike.
How to Tell if Your Teen is a Target
There are a number of ways for a parent to know whether or not their teenager is becoming a potential target by an online predator. Here are just some of the things to look out.
While there is no way from you to stop your teenager from meeting new people online, there are a number of ways to protect them from who they converse with. Here are ten tips on how to do this:
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