[This is especially true for teens who post sexy profiles.] They may hook up with a teen their own age, ... But there's also ample evidence these are hunting grounds for older men.
"Nancy Willard" is an American people/American writer: novelist, poet, author and occasional illustrator of children's books. She won the 1982 Newbery Medal for A Visit to William Blake's Inn.
More Nancy Willard on Wikipedia.A lot of this experimenting and writing and connecting with other people is a very foundational aspect of coming of age, figuring out who I am, presenting information important to me and getting feedback on that. Unfortunately, it's now a process they're going through in public places.
Young people don't seem to make a connection with the vulnerability that they can get into by posting themselves publicly.
But kids who don't have positive real-world relationships will use online social communities to find those kinds of relationships. They're more vulnerable to the dangers present there.
How do you establish online friends by talking about the weather?
These activities are causing significant emotional distress to the victims. In some, they are resulting in increasing reports of suicide. In many cases, it contributes to depression, school avoidance and myriad other consequences related to emotional abuse.
They are more likely to do things online than they would in the real world. It's the 'You can't see me, I can't see you phenomenon.' There's a perception of invisibility.
We are seeing online social norms that support really irresponsible communication. Kids think that on the Internet 'I have free speech and I have the right to say what I want without regard to the harm it may cause,' which is obviously not true and is a message that parents need to get across to children.
I've seen reports of children having to change schools. Or children committing suicide. So, ah, yeah, the off-campus activities can have significant harm.
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