A lot of media comment has been generated around the subject of websites aimed at teenagers and safety issues. Many teen sites have emerged in the past few years that are causing significant concerns amongst parents and child advocacy groups as to just how safe are they for teenagers to use.

There have been anecdotal stories of teenage girls being harassed and even assaulted after meeting up with people who had faked their profiles on the most popular teen websites.

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to prevent some level of criminality in society, otherwise there would be no crime - but measures can be taken to protect vulnerable teenagers from adults who have an inappropriate interest in them.

Some websites have taken to applying stronger levels of protection to their services to ensure that they are safer for teenagers to use - and offer parents and schools security that the environment is as safe as is it possible for an internet based social service.

Some web sites are already taking measures to make their sites as safe as is reasonably possible for teenagers to chat and make friends. Live chatrooms should always be fully

moderated by live monitoring staff and changes to profiles or new photos have to be checked for decency and appropriateness.

As more web sites adopt such pro-active policies to keep the teen environment safe, the opportunities for malicious adults to abuse their trust will diminish.

The online teen market is a fast growing opportunity, and it is important that all sites catering to this audience make the environment as safe as possible. Anything less would only lead to greater regulatory action from parents and schools to bar access to these hugely popular sites.

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