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Safety and the Web
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Pornography
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Hate
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Stalking
Pornography
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Definition
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The explicit depiction or exhibition of sexual activity in
literature, films or photography that is intended to
stimulate erotic, rather than aesthetic or emotional
feelings.
Pornography
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Statistics
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27.5 million US visitors (72% men) to porn sites
(Nielsen/NetRatings, 2002)
“sex” = most popular search term (Alexa Research, 2001)
31% of kids 10-17 report having been to a porn site (NPR,
1999)
40.2% of kids visiting porn sites are girls (NetValue, 2000)
77% of convicted male child molesters and 87% of convocted
girl child molesters reported being regular users of hard core
porn (Federal Department of Justice,Canada, 1984)
Pornography
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Why do children visit porn sites?
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Curiosity
Accidental contact
Availability
Social pressure
Hate
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Definition:
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any language, symbols or acts that makes and
individual or identifiable group feel threatened
Criminal code:
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it is a crime to publicly incite hatred against identifiable
groups through words, gestures, signs or other visible
representations
it is a crime to advocate genocide – the deliberate
attempt to destroy members of a particular group.
Criteria = intention and commission
Hate
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Statistics
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> 373,000 hate Web sites (Websence, 2001)
Most common hate sites deal with racism, anti-semitism,
and homophobia (Media Awareness, 2003)
Hate sites use sophisticated persuasive techniques
Teens are primary target of hate sites (Lee, 2002)
Why is hate prevalent on the Web?
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Cheap
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Distributed
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Target marginalized groups
Teaching kids safety on the Web
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Are critical appraisal strategies enough?