I feel like a broken record when it comes to the media's coverage of anything having to do with teens and predators. Of course "To Catch A Predator" is back on the air and earning high ratings, and so the fear and sensationalism around this issue continues. For example, take this latest write up from Media Life Magazine:

Study: Youths asked to share nude pictures online
With worries about sexual predators on MySpace rising, there’s now even more reason for parents to fret about their children on the internet. Some 4 percent of American youth reported receiving an online request to send a sexual picture of themselves during the last year, according to a new study published in the August issue of The Journal of Adolescent Health. Researchers at the University of New Hampshire surveyed 1,500 internet users ages 10-17 over the phone. Only one of the 65 youths who received a sexually explicit request actually sent a picture. Researchers found girls and African-American youth are most at risk, particularly if they are with friends. Researchers say groups of kids might dare each other to take risks they wouldn't take if they were alone.

First off, there is not even more reason for parents to fret. Parents have always known that there are some creepy people in the world, and that it makes sense they would be online, too. Secondly, how many of us (teens included) receive the barrage of spam from lonely women in Russia wanting to talk or countless Viagra emails? Four percent (small number) of teens said they received a sexually explicit request to send a photo. Almost every teen (except one) clicked delete, blocked that person or simply ignored them (I'm saying this, the survey would probably just say they didn't respond). Is it shocking that teens might encourage each other on to actually send a naked photo? No. Teens encourage each other to do stupid things all the time. It's part of being a teen. Part of being a parent means talking to teens about where that photo can end up (on thousands of websites, and that it's nearly impossible to take it down once it's out there).

Being a totally wired parent means reading between these headlines and finding the good news in these studies often buried in the last sentence.