Responses to Questions

Tamlin Engle asks… “Are there any statistics that the shows like Dateline are helping the problem of sexual predators? Also what are the different suggestions about how to protect your children from these sexual predators?”

The show, To Catch A Predator, hosted by Chris Hansen is defiantly helping to solve the problem of sexual predators. The number of sexual predators that live among us is such a huge number. Law officials estimate that there are as many as 50,000 sexual predators online at any given moment. (2006) Dateline has been doing the show for over three years now and has caught 200 predators. We all need to make a stand, and show these predators that this is unacceptable and they will be caught. There are many things parents can do to protect their children from these predators. Parents need to make their children aware of the problem and the consequences of their actions with people online. These are some of the things parents can do; look for secretive or changing behavior, phone calls or packages sent from adults you don’t know, and be aware of the amount of time your child spends online.

References
(2006) How to Protect Your Child Online. Retrieved May 1, 2007, from http://www.familyfirst.net/internetguide/dangers.htm

Hansen, C. (2007) Reflections on 'To Catch a Predator'. Retrieved May 1, 2007, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17601568/

Kelly Byke asks… “I like your lit review; I was wondering if you know if there are any laws against using false identity/false representation of a person with electronic communication? If there were more laws out there against this, perhaps people would be more hesitant towards using a false identity online, and maybe prevent more internet crimes from occurring!”

There are laws against using false identity/false representation of a person on the internet. This is a very serious issue that is not taken lightly in court. In Arizona if you take the identity of another person it’s a class 4 felony, which means imprisonment for 2 to 10 years and a fine of up to $100,000. Taking a person’s identity for the purpose of committing a crime is a serious concern and violates the victim and can cause huge financial losses. There needs to be more effective solutions for catching these criminals, in order to help solve this epidemic.

References
(2007) The Identity Theft Advisor. Retrieved May 3, 2007 from http://www.identity-theft-advisor.com/state-laws.htm

Joe Persichina asks… “Identity changing sounds intresting. Do you think it is healthy for someone to constantly change their identity, or will it make their maturing process as a person slow and difficult? It is good to express yourself, but do you think people take advantage of changing identities online? Stalkers, and child abusers alter their identities to lure in their prey. Is it safe?”

I don’t think that changing your identity is necessarily a good or bad thing, if done with good intentions. I think growing up everyone has changed their identity from time to time. I know I have growing up, when chatting online you may enhance your features or lied about some characteristic about yourself. There was never any attention to do or commit any harm though. I think that it becomes unhealthy when people spend their entire day and life online. It’s always good for you to express yourself, even if that’s done online. But people get so into these online communities that they began to take over their life. When people are changing everything about themselves and deceiving people is when there is a problem. The internet is not a very safe place for anyone, and everyone needs to use caution when accessing.

Greg Young asks… “Being able to express themselves more in a digital world has its pluses, but does your research mention which environment is best for shaping one's identity?”

I couldn’t really find any information on the best environment for shaping ones identity. But I think that online dating sites are one of the ways of putting your identity online. Think about all the information you put on their about yourself, your basically marketing yourself to someone else. You have to answer numerous amounts of questions, and fill out these questionnaires. Even just any online community such as Facebook or MySpace, gives you the opportunity to express yourself to the world. These sites offer many ways to shape your identity. You only add information that you want people to see. You create everything on your site, true or not, and people can only think that what they see or read is true.