Sharpe's Opinion

Internet Not Really So Dangerous For Kids After All

A task force created by 49 state attorneys general to look into the problem of sexual solicitation of children online has concluded that there really is not a significant problem.

…

The report concluded that the problem of bullying among children, both online and offline, poses a far more serious challenge than the sexual solicitation of minors by adults.

“This shows that social networks are not these horribly bad neighborhoods on the Internet,” said John Cardillo, chief executive of Sentinel Tech Holding, which maintains a sex offender database and was part of the task force. “Social networks are very much like real-world communities that are comprised mostly of good people who are there for the right reasons.”

Funnily enough, those findings don’t really surprise me. I’ve always thought the ‘dangers of the internet’ have been overemphasised by newspapers. Of course it’s worth always keeping tabs on who your child speaks to online and what sites they visit, and indeed making sure they’re not being bullied by peers, but contrary to popular opinion not everybody online is a predatory adult out to molest your kids.

I’m just sayin’…