Parents are Your Children Dangerously Flirting Online

[williamjackson]

Parents are Your Children Dangerously Flirting Online
by William Jackson, M.Ed.

I was asked to repost this blog by some mothers in
Jacksonville to prove a point to their daughters about
the dangers of the Internet. This blogs influence came
from the news story on the 12 year old girl situation
and Facebook. Girl lured into sex trade
through Facebook Invite.

The access to online sites that promote innocent
Flirting is drawing attention by law enforcement
because of the growing incidents of rape on minor
age boys and girls. This is scary as a parent and
elementary school teacher. Presenting at
conferences and seminars I hope to teach youth
the dangers of online content that they post and
the dangers of making unseen friendships in
chatroom's.
Many sites entice and encourage young girls
and boys to flirt to gain a larger and older audience,
but it is being found that older men are enticing
young girls and even boys to meet face
to face with dangerous results.

News reports have shown a dangerous trend with
online contact with older men and minor young
teen girls. Flirting is seen as innocent and playful;
high school girls and boys flirting, even elementary
school age kids experimenting with who they like.
This "greenness" form of flirting is perceived as
cute and harmless in most cases. Skating the edges
of emotional connectivity to see if there is a potential
for a relationship either as friends or a more serious
relationship.

The Internet has created a dangerous opportunity
for sexual encounters for girls and even boys and
opened the door for Sexting, sexual luring,
and Cyberbullying using sexually explicit content.

Parents need to be aware and involved in their children's
Internet activities. The seriousness of this can be seen
from NY Times reports that shows growing incidents
of rapes. There are Internet Apps that aid in flirting,
the danger is so sever that mobile apps help users
connect with others.

The challenge that technology has allowed an
open and unregulated connection that parents
must be concerned. Unfortunately pedophiles,
stalkers and child molesters visit sites and
pretend to be teens.
They study conversations, styles, words, slang
and the best times to be online to make contact.
Teens also will lie about their ages to gain access
to adult sites. Even though there are dangers,
teens discount the dangers for the chance to
act as adults and engage in adult conversations
and sometimes behaviors.

As an elementary school teacher I hear students
in fourth and fifth grade talking and their
conversations are adult in nature, discussing
their online activities using profanity, color
does not matter it happens with Caucasian
and Blacks. The results potentially dangerous
as seen from information that cases have been
shown on news reports from 2017:
15 year old Ohio girl said she had been raped
by a 37 year old man, a 24 year old man has been
accused of raping a 12 year old girl in California
and a 21 year old man from Wisconsin is facing
charges that he sexually assaulted a
13-year-old boy.

Parents need to make sure that even if they allow
their minor children or teens to access sites that
promote social contact that their children understand
not to post their address, phone numbers, or
other personal information that can be used online
to find them. Online maps are so accurate that
just a small amount of information a stalker can
find a child's school, home, hangout areas.
Vint Cerf, considered one of the "Fathers of the
Internet" stated, "The Internet is a reflection of
our society and that mirror is going to be reflecting
what we see. Children do not see any reflections,
they just see what they want and what excites them."

Parents if you have not done so talk to your children
or you may wish you had later and don't have the
mentality of some parents that the Internet is
totally safe, "I had no clue this was even going
on in Central Texas (online stalking).
I thought it was a third world country situation"
as an Austin, Texas woman claimed after finding
her niece that was abducted and sold into
prostitution after she met someone online and
decided to meet that person even after told not
to by her mother.
We are not a third world country and most third
world countries do not have open and uncensored
Internet access in their homes for children to use
un-monitored and
uncensored by their parents.

Parents, computers and the Internet are not
21st century TV's, monitor your child's activities
and friends.

William Jackson, M.Edu.
Parent, Educator, Community Activist
#NewTownSuccessZone #VisionKeepers
#MyQuestToTeach