Internet Safety Facts & Statistics:
Dangers To Kids Online

Internet safety facts illustrate the story of online victimization – what kids really experience. “Good” kids are not immune from it. “Troubled” kids can be in serious danger…

…but is the threat really as bad as we think?

The internet is a HUGE part of our kids’ lives. It’s important for us to know how to help them be safe and confident when navigating the online jungle.

I grouped studies together so you can get a better picture of what’s going on. I want you to see…

• what your teenagers see (teens are usually the victims)...

• how many teens are online…

• what parents don’t know…

• and who is really at risk of exploitation or rape.

Keep that conversation open. It just might save a life.

Teens Online & Social Networking

INTERNET SAFETY FACTS & STATISTICS FROM: Amanda Lenhart, Mary Madden, Alexandra Rankin Macgill & Aaron Smith (2007). Teens & Social Media. Pew Internet & American Life Project.

• Nearly all teenagers (93%) use the internet

• More than half (55%) of teens ages 12-17 have a profile on a social networking site, like Facebook & MySpace

• 39% of teens who upload pictures limit access “most of the time” whereas 21% “never” restrict photo access

• 19% of teens who post videos restrict access to their videos “most of the time” whereas 46% “never” restrict video access

• Of all online teens, more girls blog (35%) than boys (20%)

• Online teen boys are twice as likely as online teen girls to post videos

What Teens Experience Online

INTERNET SAFETY FACTS & STATISTICS FROM: David Finkelhor, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and Janis Wolak (2006). Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

• 34% of youth online saw sexual materials online that they did not want to see, including pictures of people naked or having sex

• 55% of them had protective software (blocking, filtering or monitoring programs) installed and running when it happened

• 1 in 7 kids (ages 12 to 17-years-old) were sexually solicited or approached online.

So it’s not child prostitution, but it’s still brazen and alarming.

• 4% of them receive an aggressive sexual solicitation - meaning that the solicitor...
  • sent them “snail-mail” (mail offline), money or presents
  • called the child, or
  • asked to meet them.

• Only 27% who encountered unwanted sexual material told a parent. Of the youth who found it upsetting or it made them feel afraid – 42% told a parent.

Strangers and Personal Info

INTERNET SAFETY FACTS & STATISTICS FROM: David Finkelhor, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and Janis Wolak (2006). Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

• Number of youth posting personal information in public online places:
  • 45% of youth posted their birth date or age
  • 34% posted their real names, phone numbers, addresses, or schools
  • 18% posted their pictures

• 71% of kids get messages online from someone they don’t know

• 45% were asked for personal information by someone they didn’t know

• 30% considered meeting someone they only talked with online

• 14% actually met a person face-to-face that they only spoke to over the internet
  • 9% of the 13 to 15-year-olds
  • 22% of the 16 to 17-year-olds

• 40% will usually reply when they get messages from strangers, but only 18% will tell an adult

“Strangers” might not have malicious intent – although some do. Back to statistics...

• 20% of teenagers think it is safe to share personal information on a public blog or networking site

• Teens whose families talked “a lot” about online safety are generally safer online. They…
  • have fewer IM names and pictures of themselves online
  • usually disregard messages from strangers
  • refuse to reply or chat with strangers
  • block unidentified senders and…
  • tell adults when incidents occur.

What Parents Don’t Know…

INTERNET SAFETY FACTS & STATISTICS FROM: Ketchum Global Research Network (2005). Parents’ Internet Monitoring Study. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Cox Communications.

• 51% of parents don’t have or don’t know if they have programs to track where their teens go online

• 42% of parents do not review content of teen chats that are read or typed by kids

• 95% of parents don’t know the chat room jargon that teens use to warn others that their parents are watching them…

Both messages mean, “Watch what you say! My parents are reading our conversation right now.”

Ok, back to business…

Who’s Really At Risk?

INTERNET SAFETY FACTS & STATISTICS FROM: David Finkelhor, Michele Ybarra, Amanda Lenhart, danah boyd. Just the Facts About Youth Online Victimization. The Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Congress.

• Most victims are teens - rarely are victims younger than 13 years old.

• Violence is rare (5% of cases)

• Abduction is rarer (3% of cases)

• 80% of the offenders were very clear about their sexual objectives with their victims.

• In 73% of cases, teens actually go meet the predator numerous times for several sexual encounters

• About half the time, law enforcement says the victims are “in love” or have a close friendship with the predator

• 25% of the time, the teen actually ran away to be with the offender

• Youth with depression, higher levels of parent child conflict (yelling, nagging, taking privileges), victimization and other “troubling life events” are twice as likely to make close online relationships.

• Youth with these problems are more likely to make romantic online relationships, be asked to meet face-to-face, and actually meet an online “friend”.

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