EXPLORING PARENTAL PERSPECTIVES ON ONLINE SEXUAL RISKS AND HARM.

• Author: Eelmaa, Simone

1. Introduction

   Online sexual risks (OSRs) are risks accompanying online practices with a sexual component that can either happen voluntarily (e.g., sexting) or involuntarily (e.g., sextortion). Livingstone and Smith (2014) offer another typology dividing online risks into three categories--risk from content (e.g., exposure to harmful sexual content), risk from contact (e.g., online grooming), and risk from conduct (e.g., initiating abuse). OSRs include but are not limited to online grooming, sexual solicitation, sextortion, sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, sexually explicit content, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), sexting, and risky online sexual behavior, which could further develop into offline abuse (e.g., forced sexual intercourse). Online risks in both forms, risks to children and risks in which children engage (one does not exclude the other), are present in all virtual and online environments children use, from social networking sites (SNSs) to even gaming platforms (Byrne et al. 2016, Nakatsui 2018, Poudel 2018, Pujazon-Zazik et al. 2012).

   While OSRs may have the potential to result in harm, it is worth noting that risk does not equal harm since harm implies adverse outcomes (actual physical or mental damage), and exposure to risk (the occurrence of an event that is associated with a probability of harm) does not automatically mean that one is harmed (Aven and Renn 2009, Livingstone 2010). Furthermore, research suggests that exposure to risk builds resilience (Livingstone and Gorzig 2014). Thus, considering risk and harm synonymous would limit our understanding of children's online activities and exclude the positive experiences and learning opportunities online risks may entail (ibid.). The relationship between risk and harm is intricate and may be affected by various factors, including individual characteristics and environmental conditions (Livingstone and Smith 2014, Slavtcheva-Petkova et al. 2015). At the same time, we know that not all children who come across OSRs experience harm (Byrne et al. 2016).

   Risk perception influences behavior (Ferrer and Klein 2015), particularly from the parents' perspective, as they are the primary agents in mediating and teaching children about different risks. Unfortunately, parental prevention efforts are often driven by misconceptions about child sexual abuse (CSA) and online grooming (AlRammah et al. 2019) or only focusing on teaching children about' stranger danger' (Babatsikos 2011, Chen and Chen 2005, Deblinger et al. 2010). Understanding parental knowledge and perspectives on online sexual risks can provide valuable input for researchers, policymakers, and other relevant stakeholders.

   The current study builds on a previous study (Eelmaa 2021), where the author explored parental beliefs on the risk of child sexual abuse. As the data from that study revealed clear and distinctive patterns in the parental conceptualization of offline sexual risks compared to OSRs, that finding warrants further investigation. With that in mind, this study aims to explore parental perceptions of online sexual risks to children and the perceived resulting harm from such risks. For this purpose, answers to the following research questions are sought: (1) What do parents consider as online sexual risks to children? (2) In parents' mind, where and how do such risks occur? (3) How do parents view the harm related to these risks?

   1.1. Online sexual risks and harm

   Online risks are perceived as something that potentially creates danger for children when they engage in online-related activities (Staksrud 2016: 81). What specifically is considered a risk is highly dependent on the culture, the context of the discussion, and the people holding the discussion (ibid.). OSRs are risks accompanying online practices that have a sexual component. Children and adolescents may face a range of OSRs, such as grooming, sextortion, or exposure to inappropriate content (Livingstone and Smith 2014, Wolak et al. 2006). The proliferation of technological developments has further oriented and advanced emerging forms of OSRs, such as computer-generated CSAM or live-stream sexual abuse (Europol 2020). The EU Kids Online survey established that 15% of children between the ages of 9-16 received sexual messages online (Livingstone et al. 2011). In a more recent survey of 1,500 young people in the United States, approximately one third reported experiencing some form of online sexual coercion or unwanted exposure to explicit content (Ybarra and Thompson 2018). According to EU Kids Online, the number of experiences with sexual content increases with age (Tsaliki et al. 2014). All in all, we know that many children have encountered some type of OSRs.

   The concept of risk can be challenging to define, as the term has different meanings across various academic disciplines. For this study, risk is defined as any event that could result in harm, with harm referring to actual negative outcomes (Aven and Renn 2009, Livingstone 2010). Measuring harm is even more complex as the type or severity of harm is not unambiguously linked to specific risks. What adds to the confusion is that harm is not always coherently defined in studies either. For instance, a cross-sectional study relying on data from a four-year research project (N=4453) on online risks to children surmised that 25.4% (n=1108) reported receiving at least one sexual request, (1) and while 71.2% perceived the requests as pleasant or common, 28.8% perceived the requests as bothersome (Kerstens and Stol 2014). Hence, we know that almost a third of children were bothered by sexual requests, but that does not tell us much about the harm they encountered.

   Byrne and others (2016) evaluated children's experiences of harm by asking them if anything happened online that bothered or upset them in some way (for example, made them feel uncomfortable or scared). The study revealed that children find many issues concerning, including internet scams, pornographic pop-up adverts, hurtful behavior, unpleasant or scary news or pictures, discrimination, harassment, and people sharing too much personal information online (Byrne et al. 2016). Again, these findings inform us of online risks that have harmed children but do not tell us much about the type or severity of the harm experienced.

   Studies further show that some children are more vulnerable than others after feeling bothered by a potentially harmful situation online (Vandoninck et al. 2010). The available evidence suggests that several factors are relevant in determining the likelihood of harm resulting from online risks. These include personality traits such as thrill-seeking, low self-esteem, and psychological difficulties, as well as social factors like peers or lack of parental support and digital factors such as online habits, digital literacy, and features of specific online platforms (Livingstone and Smith 2014). It seems that children who are already vulnerable in offline contexts are more prone to experiencing harm from online risks. Livingstone and Gorzig (2014) found that older children, children with psychological difficulties, children who seek sensations, and children with risky online and offline behavior have a higher risk of encountering sexual messages online; that said, the variates are not identical with predictors of harm. The likelihood of harm was elevated with girls, younger children, and children with psychological difficulties. At the same time, sensationseeking was linked to a lower probability of harm, suggesting that a higher degree of sensation-seeking builds resilience to harm.

   Of course, there is evidence of a variety of detrimental physical, emotional, psychological, and social outcomes (Copp et al. 2021, Slavtcheva-Petkova et al. 2015, Jonsson 2015, Say et al. 2015); however, most such studies focus on OSRs that fall under the sexual abuse umbrella, and hence, do not cover OSRs that do not constitute sexual abuse. Then again, harm from sexual abuse is far more self-evident than from other online sexual risks. A categorization of some type would help us to better understand and evaluate harm. (2) For example, feeling uncomfortable presumably does not equal to detrimental outcomes such as self-harming or depression, yet the term 'harm' seems to cover all three examples.

   Without any distinction, it is easy to exacerbate the already existing societal fears and anxieties surrounding the topic. (3) The intersection of sexuality and the online world is complex and often misunderstood (Tiidenberg and Van Der Nagel 2020). As Sonia Livingstone pointed out, research on children's online experiences can sometimes seem like a race to uncover the scariest findings. (4) Moreover, the so-called scary findings can easily be used to distort public perception of the issue, cause an overreaction to potential risks and result in policies that are less evidence-based and more emotion-driven. The central narratives present in discussions about sexuality and the online world paint a worrisome picture colored with fear and danger (Tiidenberg and Van Der Nagel 2020).

   The protectionist agenda surrounding the topic--though the goal of the agenda itself unquestionably laudable--can inadvertently amplify the perceived danger and risk associated with it, potentially hindering meaningful discussion and exploration. It is essential to recognize that alongside risks, online environments offer a multitude of positive experiences and learning opportunities, and that not all encounters with online risks lead to harm, particularly given that the current pool of knowledge shows a link between experiencing risks and developing resilience. More studies are needed that clearly distinguish risk from harm (and even harm from harm) and investigate those separately without the premise that any sexual risk is always inherently harmful.

   1.2. Parental knowledge and perception on OSRs

   When discussing risk...