Prof. Tunnard's Social Network Analysis and Social Media Classes: Social Networks Putting Kids at Risk.

With the increased use of social networks, it isn't surprising to find that the unsavory people of the world find ways to use the technology to dangerous ends. Unfortunately these people are targeting children and teenagers, and our kids are inadvertently helping them out. In September of this year, a 16 year old girl from Canada was drugged and raped by 7 males while at a party. While the event is disturbing enough, it was made worse by the fact that people took photos of the incident and posted it to social networking sites, such as Facebook [1]. These photos were uploaded to Facebook within hours, and while police were able to remove the photographs, it is known that they were downloaded prior to being removed. Unfortunately this is not an isolated event. In a recent study, it was found that 13% of kids interviewed had posted nude, or semi-nude photographs of themselves on the internet and 24% said they had signed onto someone else's account and accessed information without permission[2]. And these activities are not isolated incidents. News of child pornography rings being found through social networking sites are more and more common. Two recent examples include a ring of 11 people from Canada, Australia, and Britain being arrested because they were distributing child pornography via Facebook [3], and a second ring where more than 50 people have been arrested for using social networking technology to distribute child pornography [4].

So what is the problem, and are there any solutions? Very simply put, social networks are making it easier for child predators to not only access and distribute compromising photographs and videos of minors, but also that children and teenagers are supplying the material. Since criminals will always find ways to act illegally, ultimately any solution must be child focused. There are two schools of thought about potential solutions. One is to reduce access to social networking sites for minors by having age limits in place in order to use the site, and the other is to have parents be responsible for monitoring their child's internet activity [5][6]. In the US, the Bush administration tried to expand the 1998 Child Protection Act to require age limits to access sites that could be damaging to minors, but this policy was overturned and subsequently dismissed by the Supreme Court [7]. Therefore it is up to individual internet networking site to establish and enforce age limits. Facebook, mySpace, and other social networking sites have established age limit requirements, but many feel that they do not adequately enforce these limits [8].

On the other side of the argument, many people suggest that parents need to be more actively involved in monitoring how their children use the internet. They argue that it is the parent’s right and obligation to teach their children how to safely use the internet to avoid potential online threats. By educating children and establishing rules on how kids use the internet, many suggest that online threats can be reduced [9].

Because of the volatility and rapid advancement of the internet and associated technology, I think the possibility of creating and enforcing age restrictions to access sites would never be successful due to being ineffectual, or legally too restrictive. And ultimately, sick people will always find a way to satiate their desires, and kids will always find a way to access things they aren’t supposed to. While there is a risk of child predation on the internet, a significant amount could be reduced if children were taught how to appropriately use the internet and social networks. For instance, teach children to not accept friend requests from people they do not know, and also to inform our kids that once something is on the internet, it is nearly impossible to completely remove. The most important piece of the equation is how parents teach and monitor behavior, whether it is on the internet, at school, or in the mall. Censorship is not the answer, it will only cause more harm than good, and ultimately access to information empowers people. We just need to approach it with a little common sense.