Study shows 16% take such risks, higher than peers in US, Europe; over a fifth go
By Leung Wai-leng
July 27, 2005
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE teenagers are more likely than their peers elsewhere to meet face to face the strangers they befriend online, according to a study done here.
Worse, many go alone.
A few have suffered from this lack of caution. Two boys reported being hurt physically while a girl was verbally abused.
They could have met a worse fate. In 2003, Raymond Pok, then 26, posed as a teenager in an Internet chatroom to lure two girls, aged 13 and 14, into meeting him in person before raping them.
This reckless behaviour was highlighted by Associate Professor Ang Peng Hwa, dean of Nanyang Technological University's School of Communication and Information.
He was speaking yesterday on emerging cyber trends in Singapore at a one-day conference on the dangers faced by youth on the Internet. About 250 youth leaders and social workers from Asean countries attended the second Youth.Net Conference.
The study done last year surveyed 1,124 Singaporeans youths aged 12 to 17. Of these, 16 per cent have met offline the strangers they meet online. And 22 per cent who did so went alone.
In the United States, a survey of 1,501 teens aged 10 to 17 found that 7 per cent go for such offline meetings. In Europe, the proportion is also a single-digit figure, Prof Ang said.
However, the proportion of US teens who go for such meetings on their own is marginally higher than in Singapore: 23 per cent.
While it is not possible to keep youths away from the temptations on the Internet, the best deterrent is to inculcate them with the right values, said Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee when he opened the conference.
He announced two initiatives to promote 'cyber wellness'. One will give seed funding to schools to develop Internet youth projects. The government-sponsored project will be launched by the year end.
The other is a guidebook outlining youth trends, dangers and resources on the Internet. It is due out in October and will be distributed to schools.
Parents too play a crucial role in the battle against online threats, said keynote speaker Rachel O'Connell, director of research at the Cyberspace Research Unit at Britain's University of Central Lancashire.
She highlighted the proliferation of websites advocating unhealthy behaviour like suicide and anorexia.
'Problems like suicide and anorexia are issues teens have always addressed. Now, the Internet has given rise to communities where thousands of like-minded teens can gather and legitimise those behaviours.
'Taking away their Internet access isn't the answer - they'll find a way to get around it,' she said.
Instead, she urged parents to do two things - to be aware of what their child is going through and to be educated on Internet safety in order to deal with the problem in a calm, informed manner.
However, the situation is not all doom and gloom.
Many teens are also stepping out to help their peers. Associate Professor Ho cited the case of David (not his real name), a teen who was addicted to online pornography.
He took part in a workshop by Project CRuSH, a youth outreach programme that teaches youths how to stay safe on the Internet.
He kicked his habit. Today, he mentors other teen Internet addicts and has reached out to more than 700 youths through the programme's online forums.