This is material we used on a workshop we did for internet dangers for
children at my Church.  I thought this might be useful for some.  While this
is geared towards faith based communities... it has a lot of information for
any parent.  Read and make sound decisions based upon your judgment.

Allen

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#1. Pornography--Warping the minds of youth

Repeatedly viewing pornography, especially from a young age, can radically
shape one's sexual attitudes and beliefs. Frequent exposures to sexually
explicit material is closely linked to more permissive attitudes about sex,
such as having multiple sexual partners, "one night stands", cynicism
about the need for affection between sexual partners, casual sexual relations
with friends, and even mimicking behaviors seen in pornography.

 *  More than 1 in 8 web searches are for erotic content.
 *  79% of youth's unwanted exposures to Internet porn take place in the
    home.
 *  Before the age of 18, 83% of boys and 57% of girls have seen group sex
    online.

#2. Sexting--The unsafe 'Safe Sex'

Sexting is sending or receiving nude or partially nude photos or videos
through the Internet or cell phones. When teens engage in this risky
behavior, many things can go wrong. These images are easy to forward on to
others. At times, these images can be considered 'child pornography', and
some teens have already been given felony charges.

 *  Nearly 1 in 5 teens who receive a sext share it with someone else.
 *  20% of teens have sent or posted a nude or semi-nude image of themselves.
 *  Of those who have sent sexts, 76% of girls and 57% of guys sent it to get
    someone else to like them.

#3. Cyberbullying--The mean way kids treat each other but online

Bullying happens on both the playground and in the digital world. Hurtful
words are exchanged. Rumors start easily and spread quickly. Profiles and
e-mails are hacked. And these types of activities are common today:

 *  20% of teens say their peers are "mostly unkind" to each other on
    social networks.
 *  24% of teens and young adults say someone has written something about
    them online that wasn't true.
 *  9% say someone has threatened to use electronic communication (Facebook,
    e-mail, text messages, etc.) to tell others private things about them as a
    form of blackmail.

#4.  Predators--Those who are seeking to ensare / harm our children

The Internet is a perfect forum to meet new people, but some with malicious
intent can use it to "befriend" your child. Internet predators are expert
manipulators, able to foster a relationship of dependence with a teenager.
Most prey on a teen's desire to be liked, their desire for romance, or
their sexual curiosity. Often a predator "grooms" a child through flattery,
sympathy, and by investing time in their online relationship. These can then
turn into offline relationships or, in extreme cases, opportunities for
kidnapping or abduction.

 *  76% of predators are 26 or older.
 *  47% of offenders are 20 years old than their victims.
 *  83% of victims who met their offender face-to-face willingly went
    somewhere with them.

#5. Gaming--More risks of exposure to sexual media and interactions

While online and console games can be very fun, educational, and interactive,
there are also hidden dangers. Much of the content of some games include
sexual content, violence, and crude language. Plus, Internet-connected games
enable kids to interact with strangers, some of which can be bad influences
or mean your kids harm.

 *  82% of children say they are current gamers.
 *  One-third of teen gamers (ages 15-17) report playing games with people
    they first met online.
 *  13% of underage teenagers were able to buy Mature-rated games between
    November 2010 and January 2011.

6. Social Networks--Redefining privacy

Social networks like Facebook are very popular online activities. But parents
should be aware of the image their teens are projecting as well as the
influences they are absorbing online.

 *  Despite the 13-year-old minimum, over half of parents of 12-year-olds say
    their child has a Facebook account, and three-quarters of these helped
    their child create the account.
 *  40% of teens have seen pictures on social networks of their peers getting
    drunk, passed out, or using drugs, and half of these first saw these
    pictures when they were 13 or younger.
 *  More than 11% of teens are "hyper-networkers", spending more than three
    hours per school day on social network sites.

7. YouTube--"Broadcast yourself" culture means anything goes

YouTube is the world's largest video sharing website. But because anyone
can upload anything to YouTube, often videos can break the Community
Guidelines for YouTube, and even those that do not can still be full of
sexual innuendo, provocative content, and foul language.

 *  48 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute (about 8 years of
    content uploaded every day).
 *  Over 3 billion videos are viewed every day on YouTube.
 *  Users upload the equivalent of 240,000 full length films every week.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A31 (Windows)