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Thursday, January 12, 2006
IS THE AD COUNCIL ENCOURAGING ONLINE PREDATORS?
External link: http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2005/06/08/business/predators.php
I just saw a very bad advertisement on TV.
There's a cute girl, about 14 or 15 talking. At first we only hear the man's voice, but as the commercial goes on, you begin to see the guy talking, who turns out to be a good looking guy in his mid-twenties.
Man: Meeting a teen girl online is easy. They're so desperate for attention . . .
Girl: Attention from older guys is flattering. They get me more than guys my age . . .
Man: Age lets me play the supportive older guy, and that's inter--. . .
Girl: Interested in the same things. And you get to know someone when you're chatting . . .
Man: Chatting seems unthreatening to them. Once I talk about how perfect we are for each other . . .
Girl: Other people don't understand. If you trust someone what's wrong with meeting . . .
Man: Meeting them is the goal. That's when things get really interesting.
Woman's voice: Online predators know what they're doing. Do you?
Now, I'm all for alerting parents and children about the danger of online predators. But do they really need to teach older men that picking up a cute teenager online is so easy? Do they really have to portray the older guy as attractive and remind kids that his attention is "flattering"?
According to coolnurse.com, the age of consent for women is 18 in only 8 US states. It is 16 or lower in 33 states and the District of Columbia, including 3 states where it is 14. So, in most of the country, a so-called online predator in his 30s or 40s can go to a chatroom, seduce a 16-year-old girl, and be legally accountable to no one. And, aparently, in Hawaii, Iowa, and South Carolina, men can do so to a 14-year-old girl, and brag about to the police if they want to.
Whatever your opinion is about whether sex with a 14-year-old girl should be legal in the United States, I don't think we can really have an argument about whether it should be encouraged. It should not be. And yet I think this ad encourages men to get online and try to seduce a teenage girl, by making it look like it's very easy to do, and it glamorizes it to young girls by portraying the predator as an attractive man in his mid-twenties.
I really don't think that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Ad Council fully thought through the likely effect of this message, at all. I think they should retool their message.
link to this item: http://www.creamy.com/blog/2006/01/is-ad-council-encouraging-online.html
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So far there is/are 4 comment(s) since 1/1/2005. Click here to leave one.
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I found the language of the ad to be slightly misleading. It take some time to become a successful online predator. Meeting an attractive girl who is starved for attention is not as "easy" as the ad suggests.
I would strongly encourge the advertisers to adopt a more realistic slogan, such as 'Meeting beautiful young teenage girls online is not easy, but I did it and so can you!"
Perhaps the predator could describe how he got started using the internet and which chat rooms work best. I feel this sort of testimonial would be more helpful to people who are not familiar with the internet, and for parents who want their teenagers to stop watching TV and explore computers and online dating.
Also, the ad should mention that due to the various state laws, this offer is not valid in all jurisdictions.
Overall, I think the public is well-served by this announcement and I look forward to some follow-up ads with real online couples!
I found the language of the ad to be slightly misleading. It take some time to become a successful online predator. Meeting an attractive girl who is starved for attention is not as "easy" as the ad suggests.
I would strongly encourge the advertisers to adopt a more realistic slogan, such as 'Meeting beautiful young teenage girls online is not easy, but I did it and so can you!"
Perhaps the predator could describe how he got started using the internet and which chat rooms work best. I feel this sort of testimonial would be more helpful to people who are not familiar with the internet, and for parents who want their teenagers to stop watching TV and explore computers and online dating.
Also, the ad should mention that due to the various state laws, this offer is not valid in all jurisdictions.
Overall, I think the public is well-served by this announcement and I look forward to some follow-up ads with real online couples!
# posted by 
: Thursday, January 19, 2006 5:56:00 AM
: Thursday, January 19, 2006 5:56:00 AM
I'm not sure that's right, legally. I think there is a federal law that kicks in if you use the internet to seduce a younger person, with a higher age (18) for consent. For example, Mark Foley wouldn't have been in so much trouble if he had just harassed the 16 yr old pages in the old fashioned way, but since he used the power of the internet to instant message them, he violated the law that he pushed through Congress.
# posted by : Thursday, November 23, 2006 7:34:00 PM
: Thursday, November 23, 2006 7:34:00 PM
It is not an ad for the predator to teach them how to get young people to meet with them. Predators already know how to do this. It is sad to say "natural" to them.
The ad is to show parents and teens (and Tweens) how a predator talks and how easy it is for an emotionally immature person to be swayed or "LURED" into this trap (hence the word predator).
The ad council is not "encouraging" online predators. They are out there already. They are trying to educate us that this is what they sound like. Beware.
Secondly, these predators are not just online, they are in our schools, clubs, churches...anywhere there are children...and they know how to win both children and adult confidences.
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The ad is to show parents and teens (and Tweens) how a predator talks and how easy it is for an emotionally immature person to be swayed or "LURED" into this trap (hence the word predator).
The ad council is not "encouraging" online predators. They are out there already. They are trying to educate us that this is what they sound like. Beware.
Secondly, these predators are not just online, they are in our schools, clubs, churches...anywhere there are children...and they know how to win both children and adult confidences.
