Today's New York Times coverage of the report of the Internet Safety Technical Task Force is disturbing on several levels.
The article, by Brad Stone, reports that the study found that online bullying between teens is a much more serious threat than sexual predation by adults. This finding does not mean that the threat to teens from sexual predators is not real, and it does not mean it's not serious-- it means its not the most serious threat to children's safety.
Upon identification of this serious threat to child safety, how did state attorneys general respond? Puzzlingly, to say the least-- Mr. Blumenthal of Connecticut resorted to suggesting a divide between "statistical" facts and "reality"... which is certainly a funny joke. If he were joking.
Blumenthal and others in the article went on to affirm their commitment to fighting solicitation of children online. That's right-- they recommitted themselves to solving the less-pervasive problem. The article did not include any position by those quoted on the problem of bullying. This story, and the attorneys general quoted therein, focused on the "sexy" problem-- the problem of child sexual exploitation-- rather than the pervasive problem. This is like setting a broken leg and failing to treat cancer.
Children bullying one another, like child sexual solicitation, can lead to tragic violence and life-altering harm. We need to solve the pervasive problems in our society-- not just the ones featured on "to catch a predator."
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