Study: Teen Girls Meeting Strangers Online Frequently
By: Ali Touhey
Updated: January 14, 2013
Kristen Greco's son, Ethan may be just two years old, and her daughter, Brianne, may only be six-months-old, but she's still concerned about a recent study that finds 30 percent of teenage girls will meet an online stranger in person.
"While I'm looking at preschools for my kids, I need to be thinking about Internet safety," said the Fairport mom.
Pam Weaver heads community education for the local chapter of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
"I often talk to teenagers, even middle school students, who talk about meeting a friend of a friend online," Weaver explained.
She finds the new stat distrurbing but not surprising.
"When you think about that a child might be gaming online, they might be talking to someone that they don't know, often times when I ask kids who they play their games with, they'll say random people."
Weaver urges parents to monitor who their children are interacting with online. She also encourages them to become friends with their child on facebook.
Finally, Weaver says keeping the conversation going about internet safety is also key.
"Who are you talking to? How much information are you sharing? Are your pages set to private?"
"Of course, starting that kind of conversation with your child can be difficult.
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