13) Of the 45 million kids currently online, what percentage will be propositioned for sex this year?

The Internet has provided a powerful vehicle for criminals to target kids, and the number propositioned for sex online each year is outrageously high, almost 1 out of 5 according to one study. One child advocacy group suggests that more than three quarters of our kids will be approached online by predators by the time they are 14.

Kids are more likely to respond to a sexual predator's initial approach because the rules that warn them of danger (i.e. stranger danger) and the tools they use to evaluate a situation (i.e. the ability to gauge physical appearance like age) are missing. Thankfully, most kids realize something is awry at some point before a face-to-face meeting. In a recent survey by the Crimes against Children Research Center, none of the predator cases they reviewed actually led to physical contact. And even though we hear a lot about kidnapping cases on the evening news, the actual number of kids abducted and murdered by strangers is quite low - about 1 out of every million.

Most child activists stress that a little parental involvement goes a very, very long way in reducing the dangers of unwanted sexual approaches online.

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