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Internet Not Really Dangerous For Kids After All

Thomas M Hughes writes "We're all familiar with the claim that it's horribly dangerous to allow our children on to the Internet. It's long been believed that the moment a child logs on to the Internet, he will experience a flood of inappropriate sexual advances. Turns out this isn't an accurate representation of reality at all. A high-profile task force representing 49 state attorneys general was organized to find a solution to the problem of online sexual solicitation. But instead the panel has issued a report (due to be released tomorrow) claiming that 'Social networks are very much like real-world communities that are comprised mostly of good people who are there for the right reasons.' The report concluded that 'the problem of child-on-child bullying, both online and offline, poses a far more serious challenge than the sexual solicitation of minors by adults.' Turns out the danger to our children was all just media hype and parental anxiety." Those who have aggressively pushed the issue of the dangerous Internet, such as Connecticut's attorney general Richard Blumenthal, are less than happy with the report.

17 of 445 comments (clear)

  1. Unfortunately... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    they will never know, given that this study is online.

  2. Reminds me of a Southpark episode... by Lorienthin · · Score: 5, Funny

    This just in.. It is in fact a child's parents who are most likely to abduct them! Best throw the kids out on the street for their own safety.

  3. No more reality cheques please by 4D6963 · · Score: 4, Funny

    What's next? Next thing you know they'll find out it's actually pretty hard to come by child porn, that it's not that easy to build a bomb off Internet instructions or that a "skilled hacker" cannot just infiltrate anything and do anything by typing onto his keyboard for 20 seconds.

    Please, don't take our societal innocence away by destroying our misconceptions and delusions about the Internet.

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    1. Re:No more reality cheques please by Sasayaki · · Score: 4, Funny

      Internet? What's that?

      Surely you mean the Global Child Rape Terror-Tubes, right?

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  4. Huh?!?! by Klootzak · · Score: 4, Funny

    machine full of adware that pops up each minute trying to sell him viagra or one night stand services

    But... But... I thought that WAS Windows?! ;)

    --
    A Man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties -- Albert Einstein
  5. Re:Equally Misleading by Jurily · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hmmm... I've yet to get the shit beat out of me on the internet, but have gotten my ass kicked at a playground a couple times.
    Which is more dangerous?

    The playground bully who finds you on Facebook.

  6. Re:*plop* (mind blown) by conureman · · Score: 4, Funny

    Quick, Smithers, massage my brain. I'm trying to think.

    --
    The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
  7. Re:Equally Misleading by Klootzak · · Score: 5, Funny

    Good article... shows the mentality of the Psychologists/Social workers though, something like this:

    Two social workers were walking through a rough part of the city in the evening. They heard moans and muted cries for help from a back lane.

    Upon investigation, they found a semi-conscious man in a pool of blood. "Help me, I've been mugged and viciously beaten" he pleaded.

    The two social workers turned and walked away. One remarked to her colleague: "You know the person that did this really needs help."

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    A Man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties -- Albert Einstein
  8. Re:The internet is safe for children? by MaskedSlacker · · Score: 5, Funny

    I for one, welcome our underage Counter Strike playing overlords.

  9. Re:*plop* (mind blown) by 4D6963 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well I'm a very consistent person, so in the same way that I make sure that my children cannot see anything that may disturb them a bit (OMG what if my children saw a grown man's wee wee? It would surely traumatise them for life), I don't let my children play on the playground with anything short of an American football player's protection gear (OMG what if they scrapped their knee and in resulted in tendon infection and we had to amputate their leg or something!)

    I think that anyone who falls short of such measures of protection is a monster more than a parent and might as well push their children from the top of the helter skelter or show them a woman's breast.

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  10. Re:The internet is safe for children? by symbolset · · Score: 5, Funny

    When I was a kid the van was black.

    And the candy was stale, like it was from the dollar store. But you had to take it or he wouldn't let you in the van.

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  11. Re:Oblig... by Patrik_AKA_RedX · · Score: 3, Funny

    Unfortunatly Mr. Jackson isn't available at the moment. Just leave a message after the beep.

  12. Re:*plop* (mind blown) by 4D6963 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Dear God,

    May I suggest that we also prevent children from being able to see or touch their genitals before they reach the age of consent? I mean you know, we don't want them to experience anything erotic or sexual before they reach a certain age, for the sake of their own mental development and health, of course.

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  13. Re:*plop* (mind blown) by MrNemesis · · Score: 5, Funny

    You let your kids outside? If I had my way I'd imprison irresponsible parents like you who put their kids' lives in great danger.

    Personally, I've solved the entire problem by encasing my children in polycarbonate resin which forms an airtight barrier between the sanctity of the child and the outside world - such as the aforementioed tendon infections, not to mention other fatal hazards such as necrotising fasciitis, piranha bees, country and western, homosexuality and religious freedom - which your pathetic padding does absolutely NOTHING to protect them from. You can't be too careful when it comes to exposing children to the world they find themselves living in.

    So far I haven't had any complaints from the kids, their behaviour has improved immensely and they've even stopped over-eating and watching TV.

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  14. Re:Equally Misleading by ultranova · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Tell you what," says one social worker to the other, "I'll take care of this guy. You go find the person who did it and make sure he never does it again."

    "I'll find out what's wrong with this person that got him beat up. You go find the person who did this and tell him that it's not his fault."

    --

    Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  15. Re:*plop* (mind blown) by 4D6963 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't worry about it. I used to show my penis to every girl in the bathroom in pre-school when I was barely 3 (it was like a daily routine for them to ask me "show me the pink" or "say hello", lol...), now I'm 22 and still a virgin. For now teaching them about appropriateness should be enough ;-).

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  16. Re:*plop* (mind blown) by Fred_A · · Score: 3, Funny

    You are a credit to parenthood !
    * wipes a tear *

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