Online Victimization of Youth

Sexual Solicitation

One of the largest concerns is the use of the Internet to involve youth in coercive, illegal, or inappropriate sexual relationships. These solicitations can be thought of in two different ways. Solicitations can take place exclusively on the Internet, meaning that they do not involve face-to-face encounters or even leaving one's computer. An example would include a youth being asked to engage in “cybersex,” which is a form of interactive sexual conversation, through chat rooms or instant messages. (Instant messages are programs that allow users to hold written conversations through the computer in real time.) Second, online solicitations can develop a real-world component, where adults meet youth on the Internet and draw them into a meeting where they can be sexually exploited or assaulted. Much of the discussion surrounding this topic portrays the stereotypical picture of an adult, male stranger preying on young children. Yet the characteristics of these experiences on the Internet may be more diverse than this image reveals. As is the case with conventional sexual abuse, online solicitations may not always be premeditated, deceptive, or made by an adult male who is unknown to the youth.

A unique element of the Internet—the anonymity it provides to its users—further complicates matters. While using the Internet, people can easily alter their identities; for example, adults can pretend to be youth and vice versa. One poll of teenagers (thirteen to seventeen years old) suggests that assuming the role of someone else could be a fairly common practice; 72 percent of girls and 57 percent of boys reporting having encountered someone they suspected of altering their identity while online. Most of these incidents are likely to be innocent, but the danger develops when an adult takes on the persona of a child for the purpose of developing a trust with that child.