Gambling in the Media
This lesson looks at the increasing prominence of gambling in the media, particularly movies and television.
This lesson looks at the increasing prominence of gambling in the media, particularly movies and television.
The nature of online sexual exploitation is widely misunderstood: “Instead of pedophiles (ie individuals with sexual interests in children) preying on young children, most Internet-initiated sex crimes involve young adults (mostly men) who target and seduce teenagers into sexual encounters.” Similarly, child sexual abuse material is most frequently produced by victims’ family members, with fathers being the single most common perpetrators. Even in cases of sextortion, 60 percent of youth who are victims know the perpetrators offline.
Young Canadians today are growing up in a culture where gambling is legal, easily accessible – especially online – and generally presented as harmless entertainment.
As adults, we want to foster resilience in young people, starting when they’re young. This can be done by teaching them how to handle harassing messages or requests that make them feel uncomfortable – on the internet or in the schoolyard – and, as they get older, by teaching them how to spot and respond to emotional manipulation. The good news is that most teens are effectively handling online requests from strangers – the bigger challenge is helping them handle sexual advances from people they know.
The Raising Digitally Resilient Kids parent workshop outlines how parents and guardians can support children’s well-being and help them balance the risks and benefits of digital media. Based on insights from MediaSmarts’ research with youth, the workshop provides an overview of online risk categories and provides resources and essential strategies that participants can take to manage these risks.
It is natural for adolescents to be curious about sex: MediaSmarts’ research suggests that one in six grade 7- 11 students use the Internet to look for information about sexual health. Twenty percent of kids that age look for pornography online, but a third see it without looking for it — and close to half take steps to keep from seeing it.
Online exploitation is when someone uses digital media to find teens and get them involved in romantic or sexual relationships.
Few issues capture our anxiety about young people and digital media so perfectly as sexting. As with technologies at least as far back as the telegraph, much of this anxiety has focused specifically on girls and women.
This lesson looks at the ways in which online gambling draws in youth and increases the risk that they will become problem gamblers.