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Flames of Moral Panic: You may have noticed that the media has fully embraced "sexting" [a term invented by the media] as the latest horror story about teens and technology. First it was about how the internet is teeming with predators a la "To Catch A Predator," with the most dramatic stories focusing on girls who met these predators in real life [read the real deal here: Online "Predators" And Their Victims]. Next it was about cyberbullying, highlighting the most extreme cases that ended in young people having to switch schools or even more tragically committing suicide. The latest is "sexting," where teens are naively sending and receiving sexually explicit photos or video of themselves to friends via cell phone, again, with the most dramatic cases highlighted.

Sexual predators are using gaming consoles such as the Wii, PlayStation and Xbox to meet children online. "Child predators are migrating from traditional methods to alternate media," says Detective Lt. Thomas Kish of the Michigan State Police. "They are going to places where children are." Predators view games that allow kids to access the Internet and text message other players as a "foot in the door," he says.

One of the most dangerous, insidious aspects of the Internet is the targeting of children by online sexual predators. These criminals employ a series of clever, manipulative tactics to reach out to children in an effort to get them to meet in person. Any parent with children who use the Internet should be aware of the strategies employed by online predators.

Anne Collier wrote this landmark article and thoughtful analysis of Predator Fact vs Myth n her blog in 2007. It was widely cited in the blogosphere, for she was one of the first to articulate the concerns about the media sensationalizing predator incidents while the rapidly escalating problem of cyberbullying was all but being ignored.

Webcams, cell phone cameras being put to troubling use, experts say. People are taking pictures, lots of them, and then uploading them as permanent displays in the Internet collection.

Ty Nordic understands the need to inform kids about the dangers of sexual predators on the Internet. But when his 16-year-old daughter was targeted during an assembly at Windsor High School on the first day of school Tuesday afternoon, Nordic was left with plenty of unanswered questions for the presenter whom he said used inappropriate language during the assembly and singled out specific students.

Child predators offering game points in exchange for nude images through Internet-connected video games have prompted a warning for parents. "Kids are playing games, and they are being asked to take photos of themselves naked in order to get game points," state attorney Cybercrime Detective Lt. David Maurer said. "There is not only the chatting version of the games but also a webcam involved."

While reports and stories in the media focusing on Internet predators have become all too frequent, the closer-to-home threat to our children may really be cyberbullying, also known as electronic or online bullying. A recent survey of 395 students (11 to 19 years old) found that 28% of students have been cyberbullied, and more than 1 in 7 admitted to acting as the bully."Cyberbullying could be the biggest online threat facing teens today," says James Leasure, co-founder of Pandora Corp. "Of course Internet predators do still exist, but statistically, kids have a much greater chance of being involved in some way with electronic bullying." Most cases of cyberbullying go undocumented because, fortunately, many kids are able to shrug off the 'unkind words' and look the other way. But there are some cases that make national headlines when they turn into tragedies, such as the Megan Meier case in 2006. Larger cases like this have prompted several states to adopt legislation that makes online bullying illegal.

Internet Safety site that has won some awards -- I want to know the balance of this information and if it shows all aspects of the issue. I would love to have someone do a full review on this one.

This site is full of information about the scary side of the Internet -- it talks about predators and what they look like. It also shows predator warning signs, which could be interesting. I'm curious to see if there is balance and where their facts come from. This is targeted to age 10 and up. There are games and other things in here. I'd like to know some people who have been through this material. It won an award in 2007

Note: this is the same site I posted earlier -as THINKQUEST AWARD WINNER 2007: Internet Safety, Keeping it Real." This Thinkquest Project does focus on the dark side of the Internet, perhaps excessively, our CTAP team thought. But it was created by 6th graders and they are to be commended for their effort. Anyone else here a Thinkquest judge? Judging starts today, actually. It's grueling but a rewarding effort. And you get to see some pretty cool stuff!

Cool summary of an article by Liz B. Davis -- Liz took the article and extracted the most valuable bits to her using google Docs. This methodology is fascinating, but even moreso the fact we may all begin doing this together with Diigo.

This research article has the facts about sexual predatory behavior.

With nearly 13 million online users, the rapidly expanding virtual world Second Life is a risk for children, who could be sexually exploited, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) said Monday."This Second Life is a new scare, unchartered territory," Wilks said at a news conference Monday with Kirk at the Mt. Prospect Police Department. "It hits home." Kirk said he knew of no cases in which children were targeted by sexual predators on Second Life, but he said he considers the virtual world an emerging danger.

Department Hopes to Protect Children Online by Making 'Top Friends' of Them. Police are hoping that children who use MySpace will add the department to their lists of "top friends" to discourage sexual predators from contacting them. The police consider this a "beware of the dog" kind of friendship. But I wonder how many kids would actually do this.

Video game systems are more high tech than ever. They are also more popular than ever before, not only with kids but with the sexual predators searching for young victims.

NCSA launched the Cyber Security Awareness Volunteer Education Project (C-SAVE) in April of 2009. The program will teach youngsters not just to be wary of online predators and bullies but alert to the tricks of data thieves and scam artists. Curriculum is customized for three grade levels: K-2, 3-5 and middle/high school. What makes this program unique is that they plan to use "tech pros" from the technology industry to deliver the curriculum in the classroom.

Parents today have responsibilities in both the real world and the virtual world, Kane County Regional Office of Education Director Phil Morris told the Elgin Academy community Tuesday.

On this edition of "Dr. Syd's House Call," pediatrician Dr. Sydney Spiesel talks with Emily Bazelon about a recent study on children and the Internet. It turns out sexual predators are not nearly as common as old-fashioned bullies.

Users need the ability to build small communities, rather than being forced into large ones

Unlike a typical social network page, a blog can be seen by anyone and at least one young fashion blogger says she's been recognized by strangers on the street - a worrisome turn for adults worried about privacy and predators. For the bloggers, it's a chance to keep track of their obsession, with input from friends or other fashion fans.

Students and parents at Windsor High School are outraged after a Wyoming police officer doing a presentation on Internet safety scrutinized individual students' MySpace pages, calling the students' pictures "slutty" and saying their sites invited sexual predators. The officer, John F. Gay III of the Cheyenne Police Department, picked out six or seven Windsor High School students' MySpace pages and began to criticize photos, comments and other content until one student left the room crying.

The Pennyslvania Center for Safe Schools has released a new Internet safety video: Protecting Kids Online. This 22-minute Internet safety resource speaks to parents and caregivers on topics from understanding the serious repercussion of cyber-bullying to learning how to safeguard our children from online predators.