Assignment #3: Detecting Sexual Predators Online
Kaitlin Dufton and Nicole ColwellIt seems that almost every time we turn on the news, there is a story involving a child and a sexual predator. In the past these mainly dealt with kidnappings in public places, such as malls and school playgrounds. Now, there is a whole new way for sexual predators to seek out their prey, and that new way is the internet. Instead of having to do all of the hard work of lurking around schools and neighborhood playgrounds, predators can now just sit in the comfort of their own homes and deceive young children.
My partner and I are interested in doing research on sexual predation online, specifically, how does sexual predation online take place, and how can it be detected? Children are taught at a young age to be careful of strangers, but with the development of the internet, it has becoming increasingly difficult to for parent’s to monitor their children’s activity online. This research could benefit society by informing parents and children how to detect sexual predators online and to hopefully give them a better understanding so that they can protect themselves. Certain things may help parents and children detect a sexual predator online, such as textual and linguistic cues.
By researching this topic, we hope to find ways that children can better protect themselves online, such as limiting access to certain information in online profiles, etc. A short conversation can reveal a lot about someone, without the person explicitly giving out his or her information. We hope to find out what information is or is not safe to post about oneself in a chat room or in an online profile. Also, what are the motivations for these sexual predators to use CMC? The Social Presence Theory could help explain why a sexual predator would choose CMC over Face-to Face interactions to find his or her victims. DePaulo et al. have argued that because lying makes people uncomfortable, users should choose less rich media in order to maintain social distance between the liar and the target. Email and IM are relatively low on the social presence scale, which would make them ideal for a sexual predator to deceive a young child. In the article by Carson et al., it says that the medium used to communicate plays a significant role in whether deception will be successful or not. Since text-based mediums allow for rehearsal, editing, and planning, it would be the ideal medium for a person trying to conceal his or her identity. Additionally, the internet opens up a world of opportunity in terms of the ability to access millions of people with the click of a mouse. Chat rooms practically advertise the types of people using them. For example, it would be relatively easy for a predator to find a 12 and under chat room through AOL or through another internet provider.
Overall, my partner and I hope that our research will give society greater insight into how sexual predators think and also how children can protect themselves from possible predators online.
posted by Nicole @ 6:22 PM
1 Comments:
As others have said, this is a very salient topic right now and one that could use some CMC research.
Something I’ve been thinking about: previous generations of children (including us) were, as you said in your post, warned extensively about interacting with strangers. We were told never to accept gifts, never to get into the car of someone we didn’t know, etc. Children now are given similar warnings with the addition of not to talk to strangers over CMC based mediums. In the child’s mind is the stranger who walks up to him on the street any different from the one who IMs him while he is sitting on the couch at home? Especially now, since today’s children have grown up using computers and CMC from a very early age. Admittedly, CMC is different from FtF – he feels safe in the comfort of his own home and may be willing to push a few boundaries, etc – but psychologically will he treat strangers any differently? After all, a stranger is still a stranger, whether they are met on the street or in a chat room. This psychological aspect is something that may be hard to control for and is certainly hard for us, who grew up at least partially in an internet-free era, to completely comprehend.
I think you have a very interesting topic and one that could have quite an impact. Great start and good luck!
Post a Comment
<< Home