I first heard about Craigslist a number of years ago in an article in Details magazine. The article was heralding Craigslist as “the place where you could get anything.” The writer exemplified this with a little gonzo-journalism act where he posted an ad saying that he wanted to meet a Japanese girl in a bookstore at a specific time and pay her $20 to receive her underwear. This noble task was completed with improbable ease and left me feeling shaken, a little disturbed, but clearly wanting to learn more about this lawless cyber corral.

I went to the site myself to see what lewd and lascivious acts were transpiring in the personals depot. Naïve to think that there would be some sort of regulations on the site, I was a little taken back when I opened a man-seeking-woman-ad and was greeted with an enormous penis, accompanied by a message that said “this can be yours.” I then realized that Craigslist plays for keeps. After consoling myself from the phallical folly that I had encountered, I carried on only to find each ad more reprehensible than the last. A wealthy man wanting three women to surprise him at his hotel room where he would pay them each a thousand dollars for sex, a woman who would be alone, bound to her bed, blindfolded and waiting for a stranger to enter her unlocked apartment door at 4 p.m. to fulfill her wildest fantasy, or my personal favourite: “extremely ugly man wanting to lose virginity.”

So after my early research it came as no surprise to read the articles that have been popping up left and right these days about Craigslist being “unsafe.”

Has it crossed the line with postings for child sex rings, ads soliciting hit men, listings for prostitutes, uncensored pictures of genitalia?

Recently in Canada five girls under the B.C. children’s ministry care were found soliciting sex on Craigslist. In the United States, Craigslist crime has become so prevalent that it has spawn a dedicated blog from one person warning about the dangers of the site. He posts a story or more a day at www.craigscrimelist.org.

It seems that the site may be trying to clamp down on crime a little bit. It has recently launched new screening procedures for erotic-services ads and has “additional improvements under way,” according to company spokeswoman Sandra MacTavish Best.

But with 40 million users posting 30 million ads to the site every month, it is a daunting task to not let anything slip through the cracks.

It’s nice to be able to “get anything you want” on the site. But if you’re not careful you might go in looking for an apartment and come out with an eastern European three-way.

Maybe it’s time for Craigslist to clean up its act a little.

Do you know who your kids are talking to online? There is a chance they don’t either. A number of news stories in the last six months or so have shown that social networking sites, such Facebook and MySpace, are rife with impersonators.

One of the latest incidents of fake profiles that is attracting media attention is in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. A 15-year-old boy is now facing the criminal charge of personation after posting a profile with the teacher’s name, photo and biographical details. He is expected to go in front of a judge next month. According to reports, authorities are not releasing many details but decided to lay charges after determining the profile had “enough information to cause some disadvantage to the teacher.”

In Australia, a court is hearing a case in which a 23-year-old used fake web profiles to help seduce an underage American girl. He allegedly created several fake female identities on Facebook and MySpace. He used these to trick her into sending nude photos and, later, asked to join him in a suicide pact.

Of course, when the topic of social networking impersonation comes up many people think of Missouri 13-year-old Megan Meier. Her story came to light in late 2007, about a year after she committed suicide after a “boy” she was corresponding with online broke off their friendship. It turned out the boy did not exist and his MySpace profile was allegedly setup by the mother of a former friend. Mainstream news stories about the situation upset people and the accused mother soon found herself being impersonated online.

These situations just show the need to speak to our children about being safe when using social networking sites. Some topics to think about are:

*How old should you be before you have an online profile?
*A rule that your child not accept “friend” requests from anyone they have not met in person
*That younger teens tell you about who is asking to be their friend
*Encouraging your kids to come to you right away if something happens anywhere online that makes them feel uncomfortable
*Reminding them that everything is not as it seems online

Robin

When today’s young people are looking for info, chances are they are not turning the page. A Synovate survey of 960 Australians between the ages of 8 and 24 shows young people prefer the Internet to newspapers.

Almost half of those surveyed said the web was the best place to keep up-to-date. Fifty-eight per cent stated it was the best place to find information. While newspapers were tabbed as the second best way to keep up-to-date, only two per cent of those surveyed said they enjoyed reading actual newspapers. The survey indicated online newspapers were liked by younger people.

This latest survey just shows that the Internet is becoming more and more a part of everyday life for young people. The concerning part for parents is that unlike most mainstream newspapers, which generally abide by some sort of codes of decency, the web is filled with a wide variety of content. It is not that young people are just logging onto one newspaper online, they can go anywhere!

The journal Cyber Psychology and Behavior recently featured an article stating males between 12 and 17 who regularly view pornography online had sexual relationships at an earlier stage than those who did not regularly see Internet pornography. One way to try to reduce the risk of your kids searching for – or even stumbling upon – inappropriate material is to install parental controls software, such as PGsurfer. This type of software seems to be underutilized.

Believe it or not, the use of blocking software is declining in America [in conjunction] with the rise of the use or pornography by children,” Pat Trueman, the former chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in the Justice Department, was quoted as saying in a OneNewsNow.com article. “There’s sort of a disconnect there … so blocking software is very important.”

Robin

Last week was a pretty heavy one for this blog. We wrote about such topics as suicide, how to protect your privacy while social networking and the impact of potentially graphic video games.

All of these topics certainly deserve their space on this blog. They are serious subjects and we really want to hear what you have to say. However, in speaking with a colleague, the fine line we try to walk with this blog became obvious. We want to discuss and bring attention to the dangers and pitfalls that exist for young people and families online. However, in the way we write and present information we do not to be adding to the problems online. Thus, we need to be careful about how much detail we give.

If there is ever a posting that you would like more information about, please post a message saying so. I check the posts and will work out a way to contact you with the information you desire.

We really want this blog to be a place for people to discuss safety online. Please feel free to post to express your opinions, thoughts and observations. Thank you

Robin

On Thursday in Japan, 350 people were forced to flee their homes due to man killing himself with “poison gas” he created from an Internet recipe. This is reportedly one of about 50 suicides in the past months in which the deadly gas hydrogen sulfide has been used.
The most recent death was a 24-year-old man in Otaru on the island of Hokkaido. A week earlier a teenage girl killed herself in southwestern Japan by mixing laundry detergent with cleanser in her bathroom.
While Japan has had a high suicide rate for a while (more than 30,000 a year since 1998 and 32,155 in 2006), these incidents demonstrate the inappropriate content that is available online.
Having been through childhood and adolescence, we are well aware of how overwhelming life can be during those tumultuous stages. We also know that those feelings of helplessness can disappear instantaneously once a friend calls or a kind word is received. This being the case, it’s important to protect our children from the recipes for escape that litter the Internet, luring them into making a decision that is tragic.
Japan’s National Police Agency is urging websites to delete posts that instruct readers on how to mix the chemicals. They are calling upon ISPs, telecom firms and cable broadcasters for help.

Reportedly some sites state that with hydrogen sulfide, which is colourless and smells like rotten eggs, “you can die easily and beautifully.” Some websites go so far as having “poison gas” warning signs that users can print out and post.

The Internet is full of great information and fantastic sites. Unfortunately, not everything in cyberspace is wonderful. Sites like the ones described above show why parental control products are very useful and could possibly even save a life.

Amanda and Robin

It seems like everyday you hear another story about someone in some sort of trouble in regards to posting something on a social networking site, such as Facebook or MySpace. Whether it is Miley Cyrus’ photos with friends or the Oregon mayor who was recalled after being photographed in her underwear in front of a fire truck, the message is clear: be careful with what you upload. Are our children hearing that message?

At least in the U.K., the message does not appear to be getting through, according to research recently released by Ofcom, a British communications watchdog. It reports:

● 40 per cent of children leave their privacy settings on “open”
● In spite of minimum age of 13 or higher on most social networking sites, 27 per cent of 8-11 year olds who are aware of social networking have a profile on at least one site.
● While two-thirds of parents say they set rules on social networking, only 53 per cent of kids say such strict guidelines are in place

Social networking can be great, however it is not appropriate for many young people. Even with teenagers, you want to trust them, but it is important to establish some ground rules. Our sister site, Safesurfer.org, has a WebSafe section with some great ideas about dealing with social networking sites with your kids.

However, everyone has their own approach. What do you do?

Robin

If you thought Miley Cyrus, the real “Hannah Montana,” couldn’t get even bigger than she already was, you would be wrong. While the daughter of Mr. “Achy Breaky Heart,” Billy Ray Cyrus has long been the pied piper of the tween set, she now is a major mainstream attraction. On Monday, the Vanity Fair website crashed due to the more than four million hits it was receiving. What was the attraction?