A cop on teen social networking

The headline of this clear-eyed commentary by Det. James McLaughlin in Keene, N.H., reads: "Online policing is getting results." But he describes a tough, complex new environment for policing that needs "a partnership between the police, educators, child protection workers, parents and children needs to take place to minimize the risk children face when they online." Why? Here's just a piece of the reason: "Someone once described the Internet as a place where it is Halloween 365 days a year, because everyone wears a mask. Further complicating keeping adolescents safe on the Internet is their willingness to engage in sexual behavior as a result of being manipulated by an older exploitive adult. Kenneth V. Lanning (FBI, ret.) describes this behavior of a victim willing to follow the suggestions of an offender as 'victim compliance.' The typical prevention program attempts to educate people so they can be safe by adjusting their conduct. However, many teens, not all, want not only to engage in the behavior, but also to keep its existence secret. This makes our traditional prevention approaches useless and our need to speak directly to adolescents about their being responsible for what they decide to do while online." It doesn't help to pile on the social sites, he says (he names a number of them). "Myspace is simply a platform; individuals still ultimately have to accept responsibility for their actions." So let's all keep working the problem together in partnership, as Detective McLaughlin suggests! Your views are always welcome via anne@netfamilynews.org and in the BlogSafety.com forum.