Internet Predators and Their Prey

Katie D.

 There are 301,000,000 people in the United States. Out of our entire country’s population, over 212 million use the internet on a regular basis. That’s roughly 70% of the US on the internet. How many of these people are internet predators? How many convince adolescents and even children to give them phone numbers and addresses? As of 2006, over six hundred thousand internet predators were registered in the United States.  The internet provides a safe-haven for people of all ages to be completely anonymous while talking to as many people as they’d like. You create a username and password, and you’re in.    

There are so many ways to meet people online. There is networking websites like MySpace, Facebook, and websites created just for the purpose of meeting people. Chat rooms also make it very easy to start conversations. You can start talking, and gain the person’s trust. When talking to someone online, it’s easy to say things that will compromise your safety; your name, your school’s name, where you live. It’s difficult to distinguish who you’re talking to sometimes, and you don’t want to give too much information to the wrong person.

            Minors typically get into conversations with older people through random meeting. The predator often conceals their identity, saying they’re around the same age as the child. If the predator can build up a friendship, they can eventually ease the conversations into sexual talk. Many convince their new “friends” to give them pictures and engage in cyber-sex. They ask for phone numbers and addresses, and sometimes even set up a time and place to meet.

Punishment for those caught enticing children on the internet can vary from a simple fine to doing time in prison, depending on what state you live in. Although being caught as an internet predator is a federal offense, differences in the state policies create loopholes. “They allow sexual predators to find states with the most lenient laws and to carry out their illicit activities from those locations,” says Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

            The best way to protect yourself against talking to people who want more than a conversation is to avoid websites and chat rooms that make it possible to talk to people you’ve never met. Try to keep your personal information private. The more you tell them, the more power they have.