yet more net paedophelia scaremongering

DadaKopf

i was just flicking through the sunday papers and came across this:

http://www.observer.co.uk/focus/story/0,6903,458668,00.html

it makes for yet another 'warning' from a concerned parent about the dangers of the net and the underground proliferation of predatory paedophiles on the net - they have probably been in your own home already!!!

it says that 1 in 5 children using chat rooms are targeted by paedophiles at some point.

Is this just more scaremongering by the press and the creation of more grabbing moneymaking stories or is it a serious issue?

i dunno - it can't be that prevalent can it?

---

"I collect spores, moulds and fungus."

Kali

hmm 1 in 5 children eh?
let me see.. approx 230 million people worldwide online... with let say 80 million under the age of 18, divide that by 5 and we get 16 million children have been or will be targetted by pedophiles?

Clintons Cat

<RANT WARNING>

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">originaly posted by tired lazy hack
but one question remains. Who is Debbie? </font>

Your the investigative journalist you tell us.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">]originaly posted by tired lazy scaremongering hack
The frightening thing is that men you wanted your children to avoid might already be in touch with them right under your nose and in your own house. He could be in your computer. You just don't know. </font>

Tired Lazy Journalism probally written at short notice.Unconvincing use of statistics.
"He could be in your computer" intresting use of Hyperbole has a ring of 50s "Reds Under The Bed hysteria about it.

Verdict...Scaremongering.
Score 2/10
Must Try Harder.

DadaKopf

it's almost as if the media needs something to strike irrational fear into the hearts of millions just to get readers.

there have been much worse articles, like the front page editorials naming sex felons, almost ordering lynch mobs - and basing it on a fear of technology they don't even understand.

That hack and scores of others are simply exploiting fear induced ignorance and we all know how dangerous that is.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">has a ring of 50s "Reds Under The Bed hysteria</font>

It's so true, not only does it echo a deep insecurity in society at large but a willingness of the political machine [politicos as well as the organs of mass comunication] to exploit this insecurity rather than address it.

Suckers.

something must be done!

here's something someone average jim wrote last year: http://www.thumped.com/articles/display_article.asp?article_code=5

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"I collect spores, moulds and fungus."

--Kaiser--

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">He could be in your computer</font>

What the **** is that supposed to mean?
The muppet that wrote that obviously knows nothing about anything.

Who lets little kids in internet chat rooms anyway?

TwoShedsJackson

Whenever newspapers need to fill some space you get one of these crappy 'features'

The Evening Herald are one of the world's worst proponents of this e.g. slow day for news they print a front page leader saying that 98.5% of Dubliners are afraid to set foot outside their doors cos of crime blah blah.

Excelsior

I love their new ads- "the best part of the day!"
They star a woman who looks like a housewife, enjoying a cuppa and a read at the end of a tough day.
A man who looks like he works in a warehouse or at the docks who enjoys a pint in his local while reading the events of the day in the Herald.
And a woman who appears to be their version of the educated cosmopolitan business woman who reads the Herald on the bus.

See: The Herald is FOR EVERYONE!
Its wide, varied journalism will appeal to all tastes, all classes, all demographic groups.
And nothing ever goes into their pages unless they check it, check it and check it again TO MAKE SURE ITS RIGHT!

TwoShedsJackson

That woman on the 'bus' is actually on the DART, and if I ever see a DART that empty at going-home time on a work night I will eat every copy of the Evening Herald printed that day.

Excelsior

Each copy is so jam packed with nutritious good-for-you facts that perhaps you should consider eating it anyway?
The little boxes with pointless news items about odd things happening to ordainary folk used to be my favourite. Have they still got that?

Blitzkrieger

I agree with you that the papers are full of ****, but maybe a little scaremongering is a good thing?

I saw part of a documentary about child abuse/paedophilla a few weeks ago and it scared the **** out of me.

It's a sad fact that these people do abuse the freedom of the net to harm children. I'd hope that parents do know what their kids do online.

Clintons Cat

<more insane ranting>
so why didnt the lazy journalist hack write a feature about how to supervise your child online,simple steps to unobtrusively monitor what your child is exposed to.Things like checking history files,cookie caches,running net monitors,programs to run in the background monitoring chatroom conversations ect,or even sitting and watching your child online <gasp>
Because that would of involved, doing some work learning how to use a computer for more than word processing,better to make up some crappy story and embelish it with suspect statistics than educate the public.
the story preys on the ignorance and fears of the public.
Watch out they could be in here,you never know,it could be that sweet kid who asked if you like lolipops IS AN AXEMURDERERyou will never know.Ban this insane communicating tool which will suplant traditional newsmedia within a generation...Smash it now before it harms us all...IN TYHE NAME OF THE CHILDREN END THIS INTERNET MADNESS

Lucy_la_morte

Hmm, I'm 14.. I get harrassed by older men who suggest sexual things, i dismiss it. Doesn't sound too hard that 16 million under 18 year olds have had a problem with older people suggesting sexual things.

I think you're more expecting it to be a very extreme sort of harrassment, as in taking it offline.

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J'ai dormi sous l'eau.

Lucy la morte.

Shinji

Government over here are mulling over some legislation which makes the RIP bill look like a privacy haven; I'm amazed that I haven't heard more about it online. Essentially the proposals are that it would become a crime for an adult to have an "inappropriate" conversation with a minor on the Internet; where the word "inappropriate" is utterly ill-defined. Some of the things mentioned vaguely are "getting addresses or phone numbers for minors", "conversations which involve any discussion or sex or sexual undertones", and a whole pile of other things. The final decision as to what is "appropriate" or not would lie with a judge.

Now THIS is ludicrous knee-jerk legislation if I ever heard of it.

darthmise

If a little scaremongering gets results what harm?
Create awareness. Educate people.

Clintons Cat

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by darthmise:
If a little scaremongering gets results what harm?
Create awareness. Educate people. </font>

Interesting veiwpoint.
Why not try educating people and raising awareness without scaremongering.The ends do not justify the means...ever.

TwoShedsJackson

I liked the headline on yesterdays Herald: 'WRONG MAN KNEECAPPED' like the right one was around somewhere

Evil Phil

From the Sunday Times 18, March.

http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/03/18/stinwcnwc01004.html

"A businessman on a BA flight who happened to be sitting next to two children was amazed to be asked to move because the airline didn't like men sitting next to unaccompanied minors. He hadn't spoken to them, nor had they made any complaint. It was simply its policy, said BA, to keep men away from children because of the danger of paedophiles. "

My God. I do think that it's better to be safe than sorry, but this goes to far.

Kali

Thats the most ridiculous thing ive ever heard.
I don't know one person that would actually say "Oh yes sure I'll move because your worried about me harrassing these little kids" to a request like that.