More than a third—34 percent—of 10- to 17-year-olds had unwanted exposure to sexual material on the Internet in 2005, up from 25 percent in 2000, according to a report by the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center.
Researchers at the Durham-based university suspect the increase is because more teenagers have gained access to the Internet in the last five years, and they are spending more time surfing the Web. Technological improvements that make it easier to post graphics on Web pages and aggressive marketing of sexual material online could also be explanations for the increase, the report suggests.
For More info
“Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later” is available from the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center.
