Adults, not kids, were the ones to fall prey to the internet.
“Youngsters Falling Prey to Seducers in Computer Web,” screamed a 1995 headline in the Los Angeles Times . The article by Kim Murphy detailed two instances of runaway teenagers whose parents were sure had been victims of adult predators who groomed them online. The subheading was catchy: “Once candy was the lure. Now strangers are using cyberspace e-mail to attract minors into harm’s way.” Articles like this in major newspapers as well as newsweeklies were part of the discussion of internet dangers that led to congressional action on the topic in the mid-’90s. Advertisement But de...