Chat Rooms

What are the risks?

Content:

  • An adolescent may be directed to website links outside of the chat room such as false login pages, sexually explicit material and/or violent content.
  • An adolescent may access chat rooms on topics which may be sexually explicit or pertain to violence etc.

Conduct:

  • An adolescent may provide private email addresses, Instant Messaging (IM) contact information, phone numbers, physical addresses, and/or other personal contact information to individuals in the chat room.
  • An adolescent may send nude images without understanding that the images can be forwarded or permanently posted online.

Contact:

  • Individuals looking to victimize adolescents may quickly turn conversations sexual in chat rooms, asking personal questions about puberty and development.