Top Online Threats to Teens according to Safewise.com:
Cyberbullying: Young people have a long history of picking on one another, but today the taunts and abuse don’t stop at the high school’s doors. Social media, email, texting, and instant messaging (IM) can invade your teen’s world 24/7. Sadly, there are multiple accounts where cyberbullying has led to suicide.
Sexting: Whether it’s sending or receiving photos (or suggestive banter), sexting can lead to a lot of trouble. Depending on how far it goes and whether or not swapped pics remain private, sexting can result in consequences ranging from severe reputation damage to child pornography charges.
Identity theft: It might seem strange to worry about identity theft when your teen doesn’t have any credit or assets to steal. But cybercriminals like to take a teen’s blank slate of credit and open up accounts that can follow your child for years to come. The damage can impact your teen’s future by making it harder to do things like buy a car, rent an apartment, or get a job.
Pornography: Exposure to pornography can have a lasting impact and hamper your teen’s ability to form healthy, loving relationships in the future. It creates unrealistic expectations that may impact self-esteem and confuse a teenager’s understanding of romantic relationships.
Online predators: Online predators often pose as peers in an attempt to connect with potential victims. They can show up on social networks, chat rooms, and other online environments. Many predators attempt to groom teens for sexual exploitation or human trafficking. But a growing number of online predators aim to radicalize children for extreme political or religious groups.
According to Dosomething.org, here are some statistics about cyberbullying.
About 37% of kids between 12 and 17 get cyberbullied.
95% of children have access to the internet making cyber bullying very popular method of bullying.
23% of students reported that they’ve said or done something mean or cruel to another person online. 27% reported that they’ve experienced the same from someone else.
Girls are more likely than boys to be both victims and perpetrators of cyber bullying. 15% of teen girls have been the target of at least four different kinds of abusive online behaviors, compared with 6% of boys.
Instagram is the social media site where most young people report experiencing cyberbullying, with 42% of those surveyed experiencing harassment on the platform.
Only 1 in 10 teen victims will inform a parent or trusted adult of their abuse.
Cyberbullying is a huge issue world wide and i hope that this website has brought to light some of the issues that kids face everytime they open anything that is connected to the internet. I also hope that this is a wakeup call to parents to make sure that there children are not participating in these felonious acts.