To Catch a Predator, and other fun things

Over the weekend, I taped a special on MSNBC of the popular Dateline segment, "To Catch a Predator." If you're not familiar with the show, here's how it goes: Perverted Justice, an internet watchdog group, sets up shop somewhere, and the volunteers enter chat rooms as decoys pretending to be young teens. The teens then chat with older men, who usually end up coming over, only to find Chris Hansen waiting for them.

So, I've been a fan of the show for a while. I've also had an ex who was arrested in an online sex sting, so I guess I've been secretly hoping I'd see him on an episode so I could ridicule him. Today I saw that a study has been released rejecting the "stereotypical" online predator. The study, done by the the Crimes Against Children Research Center at UNH, stated that teens are not in any more danger on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

It's funny, because two years ago, this story came out about how such sites actually attracted sexual predators (then again, the story claims that Newton North High School is in Boston, so already its credibility takes a huge hit). I'm sure that such websites have made it infinitely easier for predators to stalk people. Most teens post way too much information about themselves on Facebook, and there are too many teenage girls in their underwear on MySpace. I'm inclined to believe the most recent story, however. If you're smart about what you reveal, social networking sites shouldn't pose any more of a problem than anything else.

Using social networking as a source

MediaShift had a really interesting article a few days ago about using social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, as a means to either get to sources, or to dig up more information. Like many people my age, I am on Facebook, but I've never really thought of it as a viable resource, especially for serious stories. I can understand how it would be enticing, especially to younger reporters. A lot of people have unlisted telephone numbers, but there's a good chance you can find someone on one of these sites.

Jennifer Woodward Maderazo discusses some of the pitfalls of using these sites as a search tool. For example: you're a reporter, and you're writing a profile on a certain individual. You want to dig up some more dirt on this person, so you look up their Facebook profile. Is it a good idea to use what's in their profile in your story? What if it's a fake profile? Maderazo uses the example of Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's son. Several large papers took quotes about Islam directly from his profile. The problem was, it was a fake profile.

Yes, social networking tools can spell danger for journalists. They can also be used as an advantage. Take this example of a journalist who reported on a live protest using only his phone and social networking tools like Twitter.

I, personally, have never used social networking sites as a means to reach people other than friends and family. I would consider using it to find sources only if I was in a major bind. I may be wrong. Who knows?