Conventional Wisdom Busting: Social Networking Not a Haven for Sex Predators

Participation in social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook is not exposing children to a torrent of sexual victimization or other harrassment, a new study in Pediatrics reports.

The researchers surveyed 1,588 children aged 10 to 15 years old and found that 15 percent experienced an unwanted sexual solicitation over the past year – “defined as unwanted requests to talk about sex, provide personal sexual information, and do something sexual.” Internet harassment was defined as ^“rude or mean comments, or spreading of rumors.”

• Fifteen percent of all of the youth reported an unwanted sexual solicitation online in the last year; 4% reported an incident on a social networking site specifically.

• Thirty-three percent reported an online harassment in the last year; 9% reported an incident on a social networking site specifically.

• Among targeted youth, solicitations were more commonly reported via instant messaging (43%) and in chat rooms (32%), and harassment was more commonly reported in instant messaging (55%) than through social networking sites (27% and 28%, respectively).

The authors conclude that broad claims about an increased risk of victimization on social networking sites “do not seem justified.”

Unhappiness is a U-Shaped Curve

Women on average are most miserable in the U.S. when they hit 40; men, when they hit 50. Across 70 countries American and British researchers found that if life has a blue period, it hits in middle age. As Scientific American reports, it may have something to do with the slow realization that one’s youthful aspirations – to direct a movie, to do something meaningful – are not going to happen, and that one has compromised on simply getting by. The researchers did find that most people emerged from this funk in their 70s with the zest of a 20-year old, but, alas, minus the flexibility or endurance.