30

— percent of teen girls who have face-to-face meetings with strangers they initially contact online

In a study involving 250 girls ages 14 to 17, those who were victims of abuse or neglect were more likely to engage in risky online behaviors, such as meeting up with a stranger they met on the internet. Filtering software did not seem to make a difference in curbing such potentially dangerous surfing, but, say the researchers, “high quality parenting” and consistent monitoring could lower the chances that adolescents seek adult content online, post provactive self portrayals on social sites or receive sexual solicitations. [via Pediatrics]

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