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There are currently 23 responses to “Do teenagers have a realistic understanding of internet predators?”

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1. 1 On December 4th, 2012, ƜƏȠƜ :)♥ said:

   I think half of them don’t,
   but we learn about them in school,
   So you’d think they’d smarten up.

   posted on December 4th, 2012 at 7:53 am

2. 2 On December 4th, 2012, Hunter said:

   The most info I give on here is my age.
   I don’t tell people any information on how they can find me, with the most info I tell them is my first name and state.
   Me no likey internet predators. =[
   -Hunter

   posted on December 4th, 2012 at 8:00 am

3. 3 On December 4th, 2012, ♥ Sadie *It's A Boy* said:

   I completely agree, just yesterday a girl was on here asking if she should meet someone she talks to off here. I think it’s scary you never ever know who is out there. It’s scary!

   posted on December 4th, 2012 at 8:55 am

4. 4 On December 4th, 2012, Røz said:

   Of course we know, we just don’t care and don’t think anything will actually happen. We like to talk, and meet new people, and don’t really care if they could be predators or not.

   posted on December 4th, 2012 at 9:05 am

5. 5 On December 4th, 2012, ziggy_brat said:

   Well I am an adult and can tell you there are adults who do not have a realistic understanding of Internet predators.

   posted on December 4th, 2012 at 9:11 am

6. 6 On December 4th, 2012, Babby Girl said:

   we dont tell them were we live do well some people do but you have trust that u were raised right and be smart

   posted on December 4th, 2012 at 9:25 am

7. 7 On December 4th, 2012, amanda said:

   I know what you mean, alot of teenagers start talking to strangers on the internet and posting their personal information for anyone to see. I’m 18 and I don’t have a myspace because I think they’re creepy and unsafe.

   posted on December 4th, 2012 at 10:13 am

8. 8 On December 4th, 2012, Aly ♥ said:

   Not every teen is like the girls you see in magazines or on the news. Only thing I put on websites is my first name and pictures/videos and that is IT. I know when something’s up and only talk to people when I am 100% sure they are okay.

   -aly

   posted on December 4th, 2012 at 10:20 am

9. 9 On December 4th, 2012, bijjee said:

   try to tred in this area very cautiously.

   posted on December 4th, 2012 at 10:55 am

10. 10 On December 4th, 2012, sunshineBBYY said:

    i understand. i even talk to my brothers & sister about it. because i wouldn’t want anything like that to happen to them. i talk to them about all this stuff! but what really got me to notice that it could happen to me is all that nick news thing! i watch almost everytime it comes on & make my whole family watch it. so i stay as safe as i can on internet! Because in this day & age its really not a joke anymore.

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 11:20 am

11. 11 On December 4th, 2012, Supergirl said:

    I agree with you, that some of them give out WAY too much info. I only give out my first name, age, and sometimes state here. I see others asking for people’s school name and way more than that in there question, and every day tons of people post pics asking for others opinions, which isn’t safe at all. While some teens are unaware of this, others are, and it is important that they are informed.

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 12:00 pm

12. 12 On December 4th, 2012, I ♥ Purple! said:

    I do. I wouldn’t put my picture, school name, city I live in/my address, phone number, last name, or anything like that. I think putting stuff like your first name or age is okay, cause a lot of people probably have the same name and age as me, so it would be hard to track someone down with just info like that.

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 12:51 pm

13. 13 On December 4th, 2012, I LUv my GUmmy BEar<<<3 said:

    i completely understand about interenet predators hell im the one of all my friens thats always telling them not to do this or not to say that i completely agree with you most kida just dont understand just the other day i saw on my friends myspace profile she had where she goes to school the city and even her PHONE NUMBER!!!

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 1:02 pm

14. 14 On December 4th, 2012, BABy_KAy<3 said:

    I understand this completely, when I see stuff on the news about young girls getting raped, kidnapped, or even killed, I shake my head and wonder, were they really that stupid???

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 1:23 pm

15. 15 On December 4th, 2012, kleighs mommy said:

    its not just teens adults are just has dumb too.

    i say this from experience i was 22 and was hurt by6 someone i thought i knew. well i didnt. its not just the kids many adults dont understand the dangers either.
    i knew the dangers and didnt listen. i was raped but i learned from it and now by posting this i can only hope someone else learns and doesnt get hurt

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 2:11 pm

16. 16 On December 4th, 2012, sweet_thing_kay04 said:

    I am not a teen but I work with them. Most teens feel like they’re invincible.Even when u show them it doesn’t sink end unless it happens to them or someone close to them.Now don’t misunderstand me.Not all teens are like this. Remember they haven’t really been in the world this long and it takes time to grow mentally.

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 2:53 pm

17. 17 On December 4th, 2012, I Google Myself said:

    I’m not a kid but I see that MANY of the kids here really DO have their “Heads in the sand”

    People keep complaining about the “chat” violations (at Y!A) but what they don’t realize is that Predators & Stalkers can put together quite an accurate little profile on a youth (or even an adult), if they answered just a few of these chatty questions.

    How old are you?
    What city (state, county) do you live in.
    When is your date (place) of birth.
    What are your school colors?
    Are you ever home alone?
    Do you take a bus to school or do you walk?
    Do you have your Y!A e-mail option open?
    Is your hair long or short?
    Are you a blond or a brunette?
    Will you be my network “fan”?
    Whats your Zip code (phone number, email address)?
    What school sports are you into?
    What day of the week do you have school sports practice?
    What’s your first (middle, last) name?

    These are actual chatty violation questions taken from Y!A
    http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/answers/abuse/guidelines-14.html

    Think about how many (few) of these “easy points” answers would it take for a sly predator to put together a file on a youngster & actually use the information to lure them.
    A kid doesn’t have to answer all of these at once, but over a short period of time a predator can locate & lure a child based on their Q&A at *Answers*
    Kids, even adults, give out WAY too much personal information here.

    It is a matter of them endangering themselves without even a clue as to how much danger these seemingly innocent Q&A can be.

    Users might complain that chatty Q&A should be allowed …& not reported but I disagree.
    There are reasons why these low quality chatty poll questions should be deleted violations.
    One of those reasons is to keep the predators from seeking out the insecure kids, and “befriending” them through Y!A.

    Some of the kids on Y!A think it will be cute & fun for their friends to see & answer their sexually explicit questions too.
    But what they don’t understand is that HERE is where the REALLY smarmy perverts are actually HUNTING them down!

    How many of the kids on Y!A-Adolescents really are (or could be) smarmy predators, just POSING as a kid to get “in” with the kids & their “networks” & to gain their trust?

    Many of these naive kids post way too much personal information about themselves on their Y!A profile pages too.
    Like: where they live, what grade they are in, where they go to school, where they like to hang out/shop/eat/gather….etc
    Sadly they don’t realize that Y!A is on the WorldWideWeb and it is NOT just *Answers* members that view this site….It is open to ANYBODY in the WORLD to view & “hunt”…

    The Adolescent category, in particular, has many kids posting ALL their questions & answers in THIS category only because they think that here is where their friends will be hanging out.
    What they should be doing is exploring the other categories & posting their questions in the appropriate categories.
    e.g. There ARE categories for fashion, health, music, video games, relationships, education, sports…etc. The kids should ask their questions IN THOSE categories so as not to just_gather_in_this_category.

    Sorry for the long answer, but I thought it was an important question & deserved an articulated answer.

    (EDITED for additional Sources)

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 3:11 pm

18. 18 On December 4th, 2012, quenetteo said:

    No, I don’t think they do. I am a teenager myself and I’m well aware of the internet predator problem. The problem with teenagers is they think they know what they’re doing when they really don’t. Also, teenagers don’t ever think they will meet an internet predator and that there’s a slim chance.

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 4:06 pm

19. 19 On December 4th, 2012, lalagrl said:

    im 15 and i know the dangers of internet predators

    im 15 and even though i should care i still think im invincible and that it could never happen to me

    but

    im very careful on myspace and other social networking sites

    i only add people i know and am very careful of what i post on my profiles

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 4:58 pm

20. 20 On December 4th, 2012, Michael said:

    Myspace is the biggest advocate of teenagers sharing photos and being able to communicate with virtually anyone with an account. Obviously the biggest threat is for girls because they’re more vulnerable, but there are some pretty promiscuous twenty something year old girls out there who like the message button on my Myspace.

    But, there really is no immediate danger. For one, the idea of a pedophile contacting and arranging to meet a young person who they met on the Internet, is pretty rare, but it has and does happen. But that takes a really foolish teenager who obviously lacks common sense.

    There’s danger in many things. But if people are safe about it and don’t exchange addresses, there is no more danger to someone seeing a picture on line that there is to just existing, and living life.

    I wouldn’t go so far as to say that teenagers have their head buried in the sand about on line pedophiles. It’s pretty hard to convince someone who is smart to even say their last name on the Internet, much less be willing to meet the person. The only real danger is when an adult starts posing as a young person and manipulates the minds of young people. “Josh Evans” was one of those; a middle aged woman posed as a teenage boy with the name Josh Evans and harassed this girl so much she committed suicide.

    So yes, there is some real danger to it. But that’s why it’s not a good idea to be an idiot.

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 5:30 pm

21. 21 On December 4th, 2012, Jenny¸.•´¸.•´¨) ¸.•*¨) said:

    Some do and some don’t. I’ve seen several young girls here post links to their blogs or their MySpace and you soon find friends and family’s names, town, state, and much more personal information. I’ve had the pleasure to correspond with a few younger users here and they were very appreciative and receptive to my ‘butting in’ and letting them know the risk they’re taking.

    So I’d suggest that when we see a young person putting themselves in harms way that we do what we can to protect them. Even if it seems harsh.

    I google myself mentioned the kids who gather in this category and ‘visit.’ I understand the need to communicate with likeminded people, I love to do that too. But Answers is a Q & A site and not a social site. That’s why there are no gathering spots for any specific age group and one of the reasons is to protect young folks from pervs who like to prey where kids hang.

    That doesn’t mean that kids shouldn’t answer questions or ask question in this section. Young people are a valuable resourse when us parents are trying to figure out our own kids.

    Anyway, kids don’t believe anything bad could happen to them. I was the same way when I was a teenager. We’ve just got to do what we can to help them out.

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 6:23 pm

22. 22 On December 4th, 2012, Missing U Always said:

    As a teenager myself I see where you’re comming from. I agree that 8/10 teens don’t know the risks of online predators. All that goes through their heads is what’s going on in that particular moment and not thinking of the results of their actions.

    Sometimes it’s hard to control what teens do online as they are bound to find way to hide what they are doing. I admit that I myself tend to hide thigns sometimes, but nothing that serious.

    I for one don’t think that I’ve got my head in the sand. For I don’t have a ((myspace, flickr, youtube acount, facebook)) or any of that stuff. I tend not too because I have to say that I know what’s going on around em and that I’m not that stupid to give away personal information about myself to stragners and expect nothing to happen.

    I hope I was able to give you some kind of info. on what I think about you question.

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 7:16 pm

23. 23 On December 4th, 2012, gia_rox87 said:

    I dont think they do at all, they give out personal info thinking its nothing when they dont know whos at the other end. Like that messed up story about the girl who killed herself over some made up guy that some girls and their mother made up. Its just sad. Do something better with your time and if you are online be smart about it.

    posted on December 4th, 2012 at 7:22 pm

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