ABSTRACT
Young people’s use of the Internet, perceptions of ‘risk-taking behaviour’ and online experience have become the subject of an increasing amount of research. A national random sample of young Internet users in the United States (ages 10-17) found that 13 per cent had experienced an unwanted sexual solicitation on the Internet in the past year (Mitchell et al., 2008). Many of these incidents were confined to the Internet and were relatively mild in nature. However, the potential for online sexual solicitation and harassment has raised obvious concerns among parents, teachers, and mental health professionals. What risks are children taking when using the Internet? Recent research led by Livingstone (2009) and funded by the European Commission Safer Internet Programme (EC SIP) suggests a rank for young people’s online risk-taking behaviour. The work draws upon findings from research studies exploring young people’s Internet behaviour across Europe and includes the views of thousands of young people. The ranking of risk incidence is as follows:
1. Providing personal information to strangers (50 per cent). 2. Seeing adult pornography online (40 per cent). 3. Seeing violent or hateful content (30 per cent). 4. Meeting an online contact (10 per cent).
