Using Internet communication tools such as chat rooms, e-mail and instant messaging can put children and teens at risk of encountering online predators. The anonymity of the Internet means that trust and intimacy can develop quickly online. Predators take advantage of this anonymity to build online relationships with inexperienced young people. Adults can help protect kids by becoming aware of the risks related to online communication and being involved in kids’ Internet activities.

How do online predators operate?

Predators establish contact with kids through conversations in chat rooms, instant messaging, e-mail or discussion boards. They often misrepresent their age and pretend to be younger, usually closer in age to their victim. Many kids use ‘peer support’ online forums to deal with their problems and predators often go to these areas to look for vulnerable victims.

Online predators try to gradually seduce their targets through attention, affection, kindness, and even gifts, and often devote considerable time, money and energy to this effort. They are aware of the latest music and hobbies likely to interest kids. They listen to and sympathize with kids’ problems. They also try to ease young people’s inhibitions by gradually introducing sexual content into their conversations or by showing them sexually explicit material.

Some predators work faster than others, engaging in sexually explicit conversations immediately. This more direct approach may include harassment or stalking. Predators may also evaluate the kids they meet online for future face-to-face contact.

Which young people are at risk?

Young adolescents are the most vulnerable age group and are at high risk of being approached by online predators. They are exploring their sexuality, moving away from parental control and looking for new relationships outside the family. Under the guise of anonymity, they are more likely to take risks online without fully understanding the possible implications.

Young people who are most vulnerable to online predators tend to be:

• new to online activity and unfamiliar with “Netiquette”
• actively seeking attention or affection
• rebellious
• isolated or lonely
• curious
• confused regarding sexual identity
• easily tricked by adults
• attracted by subcultures apart from their parents’ world

Kids feel they are aware of the dangers of predators, but in reality they are quite naive about online relationships. In focus groups conducted by the Media Awareness Network in 2000, girls aged 11 to 14 initially said they disguised their identities in chat rooms. They admitted, however, that it was impossible to maintain a false identity for long and eventually revealed personal information when they felt they could ‘trust a person.’

Building this ‘trust’ took from 15 minutes to several weeks – not a long time for a skilful predator to wait.

Does Canadian law protect children from online predators?

Some forms of online harassment are criminal acts under Canadian law. Under the Criminal Code, it is a crime to communicate repeatedly with someone if your communication causes them to fear for their safety or the safety of others.

In 2002, Canada enacted legislation targeting criminals who use the Internet to lure and exploit children for sexual purposes.

What can you do if a student is being targeted?

If you feel a student is in imminent danger of being lured into a real-life meeting with a predator, call 911 or your local police and fill out cybertip.ca's online reporting form at www.cybertip.ca or use their toll-free phone line: 1-866-658-9022.

If you are concerned that a student has established an online relationship with someone who may be a predator alert the student’s parents or guardians and your school administration.

How can students reduce the risk of being victimized?

Students should be taught to take the following precautions:

• never download images from an unknown source – they could be sexually explicit
  
  
• tell an adult immediately if anything happens online that makes them feel uncomfortable or frightened
  
  
• choose a gender-neutral screen name that doesn’t contain sexually suggestive words or reveal personal information
  
  
• never reveal personal information (including age and gender) to anyone online and not filling out online personal profiles.

Source: Some of the above information was adapted, with permission, from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation publication A Parent’s Guide to Internet Safety. It has been rewritten for Canadian audiences with the assistance of the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Service’s High Tech Crime Team.

Classroom lessons and activities:

• ChatDanger 
  This award-winning British Web site teaches elementary students how to avoid online predators and stay safe in chat rooms.

 
Know the Risks
Privacy invasions | Pornography | Cyber bullying | Online predators | Spam | Misinformation | Violent and hateful content | Gambling | Reporting trouble