"There's a tendency to shock and scare because it sells."

And, really, it comes down to: If it bleeds, it leads. These stories get headlines. I'm a journalist -- I understand. We all love to have stories on A-1, and there's pressure to sensationalize. It's true of all aspects of journalism. For instance, there's the well-known statistic that one in five children are solicited on the Internet. It was true when the research was done in 2000 (in 2006 it was 1 in 7), but it leaves out the details that most children are solicited by other children or that the solicitation is often nonaggressive. So the fact is accurate, but misleading. And then someone can change a word or two [of the statistic], and the entire interpretation changes.

What is the known percentage of cases where predators meet their young victims online? Who is most likely to send an adolescent a sexual solicitation?

Almost zero for prepubescents. And for teenagers, maybe one in 1000. With numbers that small, it's hard to be exact. Between 2000-2006, there were 615 arrests for soliciting a real child on the Internet. That's a lot, yes, but when you consider how many children use the Internet, it's really not that many.

And that's why people studying Internet safety are moving away from the focus on predator danger. A minor is most likely going to be solicited by another minor or by a young adult under 25. Dirty old men do exist, but they rarely hit their mark. Solicitation of young people is primarily youth behavior. But the statistics tend to mislead.

Who is most vulnerable to online solicitations from adults? Where are they most in danger?

There are a number of factors: Sometimes the kids are over-achievers who are used to being compliant and are trained to perform for adults. In some cases, it's kids with little support at home. The parents may not be present; there may be drugs or alcohol in the home; or there could be sexual abuse.

Typically it's kids who are lonely or shy. They may be getting attention for the first time. Or they are going through an emotionally difficult time at home or school, and are seeking out a supportive person in their life. And they may prefer it's an adult who is finally paying attention or validating them. And sometimes -- and this hard to say -- it's teenage girls who are actually seeking sex with adult men, for whatever reason they are compelled to do it.

In most cases though, its almost always kids doing something most other kids wouldn't. Most kids aren't vulnerable and, basically, kids who take risks on the Internet, take risks offline, too.

What about Internet safety education?

The problem with Internet safety education is it's one-size-fits-all. And it's failing to educate the people who really need it. The average parents need to have a discussion with their kids, and check to make sure their kids know the risks online. Kids need to know that there are predators out there. But parents should focus on sexting and other activities that kids engage in that can harm in many ways. With younger kids, the focus should also be on bullying and harassment, and teaching kids ways to handle it since a significant number of youth experience it. The focus should be on privacy. But when it comes to predators -- if you have a kid who is savvy and doesn't take risks, most kids get the message and already know the deal.

How do we keep our children safe online -- and in the real world?

Law enforcement still needs to pay attention to adult predators. But in terms of education, put online predation in perspective. If you want to worry about predators, worry about pastors, teachers, coaches, uncles and other relatives. The statistics show that they are more likely to get your kid than someone on the Internet. The vast majority of sexual crimes are committed by someone who knows the child. It's much easier to [solicit a child] in the community. You can hang out in front of school and grab them. The Internet is not an efficient place to do that.

What is the responsibility of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to protect minors from sexual predators?

They have responsibility and I think they are carrying these responsibilities out. They have to cooperate with law enforcement if there is an issue. And they have to comply with child pornography laws, and provide and support education services [about online dangers] for children and parents. And they need to have the best privacy settings and safety procedures in place. It's hard to balance privacy and safety, while making a site useful. And everything in life has some risk attached, but you have to figure out how to use the Internet safely.

How can journalists get beyond the shocking statistics, and find the real numbers and the real stories?

• Come to my nonprofit’s site, where we work hard to look at the data from credible research organizations and present reliable information. Look at the work of Michele L. Ybarra, the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Crimes Against Children Research Center, and the Kaiser Foundation.
• Look at real research and use your critical thinking skills. It's a myth that the Internet is a playground for predators -- it's a distortion of the truth. The notion that you're letting strangers into your home through your computer is not true. We could look back at this era and laugh at the panic. I think we had the perfect storm of hysteria in 2006: We had "To Catch a Predator" and Myspace, and all of the sudden, people got scared about the dangers for kids online.
• Look at the credentials of the people who are presenting the information. Look for exploitation of a news story and judge how someone is using the situation for their gain.
• Read back: What is the information they are offering based on? Do your homework and ignore straw polls.
• Don’t trust anecdotal evidence – if it’s not based on facts and statistical perspective, don’t use it.
• We can never have enough data, and you always have to question the sample size and other factors of any study.

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