Lauren Nelson, better known as Miss America 2007, has dedicated her reign to promoting safety on the internet for children.
"When I was 13, I experienced first-hand the potential dangers of unsafe Internet use. Some friends and I made the mistake of giving our names, ages and locations to someone online who we later discovered was a sexual predator. After we received inappropriate photographs from this person, we immediately told our parents, and the situation was defused without incident. Unfortunately, not all kids are as lucky as my friends and I were. That's why I feel an obligation as Miss America to help children avoid dangerous situations online." Miss Nelson says.
Ms. Nelson knows that her platform as Miss America gives her the publicity she needs to get the word out about the dangers lurking online. The online predator Ms. Nelson encountered, she and her friends "met" online seven years ago. The problem is even more widespread today.
There are tips that I give to kids, there are tips that I give to parents," says Nelson "Kids, don't talk to strangers, don't share personal information and involve an adult if you feel uncomfortable."Parents, be involved with your kids activities, download the available software, and definitely keep the computer in a high-traffic area.
One of the most public things Miss America has done is to team up with America's Most Wanted to do a sting operation for men surfing the internet looking for young girls to victimize. Ms. Nelson's pictures as a teen were used as profile pics and the men believed they were talking to a young teen girl. It wasn't long after "14 year old Jen" appeared online that men were approaching her to begin sexually oriented chats.
Similar to the sting operation viewed by millions on Dateline NBC, America's Most Wanted lured the predators to a home with the belief that they would be meeting an under aged girl for sex.
Once the men arrived at the home, they received what was probably the biggest surprise of their lives: television cameras and America's Most Wanted host John Walsh, as well as a team of specially trained cops and Miss America Lauren Nelson were waiting.
Recent news has confirmed that these men will go to trial and that Miss America will testify against them. Ms. Nelson also has interviewed sexual predators who are now serving sentences for their internet crimes. In the video-televised interview with "Simon", Miss America gets into the head of a sexual predator and gets valuable information about how he operated when committing his crimes against a 14 year old girl and her 12 year old sister. Simon also gave information about the types of kids he preyed on and why he preyed on those particular kids.
She came from a home with an alcoholic mother. The father had abandoned them. She had low self esteem issues. These are the keys and clues that a person using the internet will use to seek and find vulnerable people.
Miss America has been named an honorary Deputy Sheriff in Bedford County - a distinction also held by NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal. Both are spokespeople for the Safe Surfin' foundation, which promotes internet safety and gives information for parents, educators, and interested parties.
I have included the actual video of Miss America and America's Most Wanted's televised sting on my "Internet Safety In The News" page of my site. Feel free to watch this and other videos regarding internet safety there.
Angela Edwards lives in the Pacific Northwest and has worked with teens and young adults for almost 20 years. She has a site dedicated to keeping kids safe online. You can find her site here:
[http://www.geocities.com/questionmarque/parents_peace_of_mind.html]
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