At Risk Youth

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare – or one of them at least. Your child starts chatting with someone online and agrees to meet the person face-to-face, and discovers that the person isn’t a teenager. Task forces across the country set up “stings” aimed at catching adults who prey on young people by posing as teens online. But parents don’t have to wait for law enforcement to keep kids safe online.

“Keep teens out of online chatrooms. Interestingly, older teens are more at risk of being sexually exploited because their Internet use is often unsupervised, and the teens are more likely to talk about personal and sexual matters than a younger minor. Younger kids can face danger from online predators because the teens have a more trusting, unassuming nature; troubled teens looking for an understanding adult or emotionally vulnerable teen girls also are at risk.” [Source: The Clinton Herald]

Many parenting experts suggest that families have a centrally located computer – somewhere out in the open, where online chats can be observed. In addition, consider limiting, or eliminating, Internet access on your child’s phone. Set up rules regarding Internet use, and explain them fully to your kids. Explain why you’re doing it, and also what the consequences will be for broken rules.

A new study out of Ohio State University has found that most teenage bloggers use their on-line journals to stay connected with peers, and nurture relationships.

• Dawn Anderson-Butcher, an associate professor of social work at Ohio State, and her students studied the posts of 100 teen bloggers, to get a sense for what teenagers were talking about online.
• Most blogs were about positive activities like studying, extracurricular activities, and time spent with family.
• Anderson-Butcher sees potential for social workers, who often struggle to find effective ways of helping teens connect socially.
• While blogging can’t replace face-to-face interaction, it can give teens a much-needed creative outlet.

“This preliminary study suggests that blogging could be used therapeutically to help troubled teens express themselves in positive ways,” Anderson-Butcher said in a ScienceDaily article about the research.

A study that appears in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine found that teenagers who have disorders including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, depression and social phobia are more likely to develop an addiction to the Internet.

A Oct. 6 HealthDay News article provided the following details:

• The study surveyed more than 2,000 seventh graders who were assessed for mental illnesses, and asked about their Internet use.
• More than 10 percent of surveyed students exhibited symptoms of Internet addiction.
• Most often, Internet addiction is considered to be excessive use of the Internet that negatively impacts grades, family relationships or emotional state.
• Symptoms of Internet addiction include a preoccupation with the Internet, greater use of the Internet than anticipated or desired, an inability to stop, and using the Internet so much that it crowds out other activities.

Researchers say the study should serve as a warning to parents whose children have been diagnosed with mental disorders — and that these parents should be especially vigilant about monitoring their children’s Internet usage.