Talking to Strangers Online
Talking to Strangers Online
In recent years, the Internet has proved itself to be a niche of ever-growing clientele, offering its users a multitude of venues of entertainment, education and other beneficial uses; but other venues of mischief it provides as well. It has been a matter of public discord and a concern of parents and educationalists that millions of teen patrons are now 'online.' A lot of them use the internet regularly, interacting with all sorts of content and technologies, and yet it is safe to say that the technologies that attract teens the most are those of online communication. These appear in many forms and have many uses, yet they can also pose multiple threats. Harassment, online bullying and anonymous immoral solicitations to millions of youth online now have new headquarters, going by the name of Social Networking Sites (SNSs). One needs to have a general understanding of how people can use online communication technologies to target youth. A "chat room" is an online place where people gather to "chat" in real time. "Real time" is a technical term which means that, in computers, information is processed instantly; thus messages written in a chat room conversation are instantly viewed by all members. Most chat rooms are open to anyone who intends to participate, but discussions are not; they are often centered on certain subjects, such as relationships and depression. Although messages in a given chat room are viewed by all the participants within, chatters interested in having more private conversations can easily pair off for private talk. Many sites allow users to post and send others photographs and personal information and even use web-cameras. It is notable, however, that chat rooms, being a first among places online where solicitations and harassments occur, are losing popularity among teens. Wolak, Finkelhor and Mitchell noted in their article that many youth thought of chat rooms as unpleasant places attracting an ‘unsavory’ crowd
In recent years, the Internet has proved itself to be a niche of ever-growing clientele, offering its users a multitude of venues of entertainment, education and other beneficial uses; but other venues of mischief it provides as well. It has been a matter of public discord and a concern of parents and educationalists that millions of teen patrons are now 'online.' A lot of them use the internet regularly, interacting with all sorts of content and technologies, and yet it is safe to say that the technologies that attract teens the most are those of online communication. These appear in many forms and have many uses, yet they can also pose multiple threats. Harassment, online bullying and anonymous immoral solicitations to millions of youth online now have new headquarters, going by the name of Social Networking Sites (SNSs). One needs to have a general understanding of how people can use online communication technologies to target youth. A "chat room" is an online place where people gather to "chat" in real time. "Real time" is a technical term which means that, in computers, information is processed instantly; thus messages written in a chat room conversation are instantly viewed by all members. Most chat rooms are open to anyone who intends to participate, but discussions are not; they are often centered on certain subjects, such as relationships and depression. Although messages in a given chat room are viewed by all the participants within, chatters interested in having more private conversations can easily pair off for private talk. Many sites allow users to post and send others photographs and personal information and even use web-cameras. It is notable, however, that chat rooms, being a first among places online where solicitations and harassments occur, are losing popularity among teens. Wolak, Finkelhor and Mitchell noted in their article that many youth thought of chat rooms as unpleasant places attracting an ‘unsavory’ crowd
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