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Fast FactsChildren are at risk online. The statistics below illustrate the very real dangers they face together with general demographics of the adoption of the Internet within the US. There's no replacement for good parental guidance in managing children's Internet activities, yet by using a good parental control software program it can help parents effectively reinforce house rules and protect children when parents can't be there. US Demographic Statistics66% of households with children aged 6-17yrs have a computer and Internet access In 2000 there were 25m children online in the US, by 2005 it is predicted to increase by 70% Children's Internet Use at Home7% of children aged 3-5yrs Online Activity Statistics20% of children encounter a sexual approach or solicitation online 22% of solicitations to children occurred whilst at someone else's home. 25% of children are exposed to unwanted pictures of naked people or people having sex. One in 17 children are threatened or harassed online 23% children report that they are very or extremely upset by sexual exposures online 89% of solicitations occur in chat rooms or Instant Messages. 75% of children are online four or more days per week and 72% of children spend more than 2 hours on a typical day online. One in thirty-three children receive an aggressive sexual solicitation - a solicitor who asked to meet them somewhere called them on the telephone; sent them regular mail, money, or gifts. 73% of exposures occur while children are search or surfing the Internet, 7% involve violence in addition to nudity and sex and 17% are exposed to inappropriate sites by misspelling a website address. Pornographers disguise their sites (i.e. 'stealth' sites) with common brand names to entrap children 43% or children exposed to inappropriate sites did not disclose it to any one. 19% of children reported at lease one symptom of stress after being exposed to inappropriate sites. Only 17% of youth and 11% of parents could name a specific authority such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), CyberTipline, or an Internet Service Provider to which they could report an Internet crime. 66% of youth and parents agree that children know more about the Internet than their parents do. 84% of parents said adults should be extremely concerned about children being exposed to sexual material on the Internet |




