MISLEADING
see explanation | "...19 percent of Internet users age 10-17 "received an unwanted sexual solicitation in the past year,"
but three-quarters of those were from fellow-children or juveniles."
-OR-
"Approximately one in five received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet in the last year."
-OR-
"A recent study found that one in five children online is approached by a sexual predator, ..." |
TRUE | "One in thirty-three received an aggressive sexual solicitation, a solicitor who asked to meet them somewhere; called them on the telephone; sent them regular mail, money, or gifts." | TRUE | "One in four had an unwanted exposure to pictures of naked people or people having sex in the last year." | TRUE | "One in seventeen was threatened or harassed" | TRUE | "Approximately one quarter of young people who reported these incidents were distressed by them." |
TRUE | "Less than 10% of sexual solicitations and only 3% of unwanted exposure episodes were reported to authorities such as a law enforcement agency an Internet service provider, or a hotline." |
TRUE | "Only 17% of youth and approximately 10% of parents could name a specific authority (such as the FBI, CyberTipline, or an Internet service provider) to which they could make a report, although more said they had "heard of' such places." |
TRUE | "About one quarter of the youth who encountered a sexual solicitation or approach told a parent. Almost 40% of those reporting an unwanted exposure to sexual material told a parent." |
TRUE | "111 households with home Internet access, one third of parents said they had filtering or blocking software on their computer at the time they were interviewed." |
These comments, made various ways, are made so often it will not be possible to list everyone that makes them! |
The story behind the "2000 Youth Internet Safety Survey"
.... |
What is the Youth lnternet Safety Survey?
A telephone survey of a representative national sample of 1,501 young people, ages 10 through 17, who use the lnternet regularly - "Regular lnternet use" was defined as using the lnternet at least once a month for the past six months at home, school, a library, or some other place;
Parents or guardians were interviewed first for about 10 minutes;
With parental consent, young people were interviewed for about 15 to 30 minutes;
Care was taken to preserve privacy and confidentiality during the youth interview;
Youth participants received $10 checks and information about lnternet safety;
The interviews took place between August 1999 and February 2000.
What is Online Victimization?
People can be victimized online in many ways. In the Youth Internet Safety Survey we asked about three kinds of victimization that have been prominent in discussions of youth and the Internet-sexual solicitation and approaches, unwanted exposure to sexual material, and harassment.
Sexual solicitations and approaches: Requests to engage in sexual activities or sexual talk or give personal sexual information that were unwanted or, whether wanted or not, made by an adult.
Aggressive sexual solicitation: Sexual solicitations involving offline contact with the perpetrator through regular mail, by telephone, or in person or attempts or requests for offline contact.
Unwanted exposure to sexual material: Without seeking or expecting sexual material, being exposed to pictures of naked people or people having sex when doing online searches, surfing the web, opening E-mail or E-mail links.
Harassment: Threats or other offensive behavior (not sexual solicitation), sent online to the youth or posted online about the youth for others to see.
Not all such incidents were distressing to the youth who experienced them. Distressing incidents were episodes where youth rated themselves as very or extremely upset or afraid as a result of the incident.
MISLEADING: "Approximately one in five received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet in the last year" -or- "A recent study found that one in five children online is approached by a sexual predator, ..." -or- "...19 percent of Internet users age 10-17 "received an unwanted sexual solicitation in the past year," but three-quarters of those were from fellow-children or juveniles."
When quoted (various versions) the speaker usually fails to tell the rest of the story. The survey states:
Quote: "According to the youth, adults (age 18 and older) made 24 percent of all solicitations and 34 percent of aggressive solicitations. Juveniles made 48 percent of all solicitations and 48 percent of aggressive solicitations. (The age of the solicitor was unknown in the remaining incidents.)"
This is easily misunderstood and many do. First, notice there are two sentences, so what are the KNOWN FACTS from those two sentences? Then after inserting the KNOWN, calculate the UNKNOWN.
| | All solicitations | Aggressive solicitations |
Adult facts: | 24% | 34% |
Juvenile facts: | 48% | 48% |
| ---------- | ---------- |
Total KNOWN | 72% | 88% |
Calculate Unknown | 28% | 12% |
Many folks read the first sentence, showing adults 24%, then conclude juveniles are 76%, that is incorrect because it ignores the facts from the second sentence.
TRUTHFUL: "Approximately one in five received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet in the last year," with 48% of the solicitations from other youths, 24% from adults and the remainder 28% from unidentified parties! Further, one cannot simply assume that every online contact comes from a sexual predator.
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Source:
Online Victimization: A Report on the Nation's Youth 2000-06, Finkelhor, Mitchell, Wolak
Highlights of the Youth Internet Safety Survey 2001-03, Finkelhor, Mitchell, Wolak
Internet Crimes Against Children 2001-12, US Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime Bulletin
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