capitalized on the growing demand for young children by recruiting increasingly younger victims.158 Adolescents face the highest risk of cyberenticement, exposure to harmful material, and cyberbullying, particularly since they may be more prone than younger children to engage more readily in communications with strangers.159 Adolescents are also more likely to post suggestive or indecent pictures of themselves in public and semi-public online forums, despite not necessarily having the necessary skills to recognize and disengage from dangerous situations.160 Studies show that cyberbullying also peaks during adolescence, at around 13 to 14 years of age,161 with the vast majority of bullying victims aged between 12 and 17 years. The age range for cyberbullying victims correlates with that for offline bullying. This is not surprising, given that many instances of cyberbullying are ancillary to offline bullying. For instance, some bullies may target children at school and then continue to harass their victim out of school time, through online connections.162 Risky online behaviour and inattention to online safety and privacy The extent to which children engage in risky online behaviour and neglect privacy and safety measures is one key factor that affects the degree of exploitation encountered. Children who engage in risky behaviour, both on- and offline, face a higher risk of exploitation. The 2009 European Union Kids Online study found that half of young Internet users made personal information available to strangers, 40 per cent viewed pornographic content online, 30 per cent viewed violent or hateful content of some sort, while ten per cent agreed to in-person contact with an online friend.163 In a 2012 survey, 44 per cent of teens surveyed admitted they have looked at something 158 Shared Hope International “FAQs about child sex trafficking” 2014 http://sharedhope.org/learn/faqs/ 159 The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, 2008. Pp. 19-20, 39-40. 160 Choo, K. R., 2009. P. 7 (Noting that children are still learning how to communicate effectively so they are less likely to be as socially skilled as adults (internal citations omitted). 161 The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, 2008. P. 11. 162 Lenhart, A., 2007. Cyberbullying and Online Teens. Pew Internet and American Life Project. Available at http://www. pewInternet.org/2007/06/27/cyberbullying/. 163 Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., 2009. P. 16. online of which their parents would not approve164 and, according to a 2011 survey, 42 per cent of teens admitted they had cleared their browsing history after using the Internet.165 Regarding cyberenticement, solicitation or grooming, young people who engage in risky or aggressive online behaviour, such as making rude comments in online forums, visiting pornographic websites or opening material they receive from strangers through peer-to-peer-networking sites, tend to receive more explicit solicitations.166 Levels of risk increase with children’s willingness to discuss sexual topics with strangers online.167 One recent study noted that children who engaged in four or more risky types of online behaviour were much more likely than others to report receiving online sexual solicitations. Although some technologies can be more easily utilized for purposes of solicitation than others, solicitation risk levels appear to be more clearly associated with psychosocial profile and risky behaviour, than with any particular technological platform.168 Closely related to the topic of risky online behaviour, is young peoples’ inattention to online safety and privacy. Children who are not sufficiently attentive of online safety precautions may be at much greater risk of cyberenticement and cyberstalking. Whereas perpetrators might initially target a wide array of children, they will be most successful in amassing information about children who carelessly share personal information and pictures, especially certain kinds of information, such as age and geographic location. Children may reveal their age, for instance, by publishing dates of birth or by posting pictures, commenting on age-specific subjects such as movies or video games, or by mentioning their school. Along similar lines, offenders may gain real-time information about physical location where a child uses online applications 164 Cox Communications, “Tween Internet safety survey,” June 2012. http://ww2.cox.com/wcm/en/aboutus/datasheet/ takecharge/tween-Internet-safety-survey.pdf (accessed Dec. 27, 2012). 165 GFI Software, 2011. 2011 parent-teen Internet safety report. P. 7. Available at http://www.gfi.com/documents/GFI%20 _2011_parent_teen_Internet_safety_report_june.pdf. 166 The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, 2008; see also Wolak J., Finkelhor, D., Mitchell, K.J., Ybarra, M.L., 2008. “Online ‘Predators’ and Their Victims: Myths, Realities, and Implications for Prevention and Treatment”, American Psychologist 63:118. Available at http://www.apa.org/ pubs/journals/releases/amp-632111.pdf. 167 The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, 2008. P. 20. 168 The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, 2008. 26 STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES ON THE ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN