Psychology students look into online teen activity

Students plan to conduct an online survey that will include women between the ages of 18-35 and who most likely engaged in these activities when they were teenagers. The law enforcement community is interested in the research, and Brown hopes the Department of Justice will also take notice.

“Sometimes it doesn’t seem like it’s a reality. It’s easy to say that it’s over the Internet so it’s non-existent,'” junior Amazing Grace Danson said.

The psychology department is taking an active approach to show teens that the Internet is sometimes risky, though an initiative called “The Daniel’s Program,” which was started almost four years ago.

“Young people are dying. They are being abducted and it is very dangerous. The research is something that is going to make a difference, and it’s going to save people’s lives,” Associate Psychology Professor Dr. Janet Brown said.

Students plan to conduct an online survey that will include women between the ages of 18-35 who most likely engaged in these activities when they were teenagers. The law enforcement community is interested in the research, and Brown hopes the Department of Justice will also take notice.

“The Internet is a wonderful thing but there is also a dark side to it. It is the best of times because we’ve got all this wonderful technology, but it’s also the worst of times because there are people who are out there to harm young people,” Brown said.

Students who are working on the project were shocked when they learned children as young as 10 were spending hours on the Internet.

“It’s not even just a few of them but a majority of them are on the Internet and having conversations with people that they don’t know. This then leads to terrible and risky behavior,” senior Ashley Simpkins said.

The students are divided into teams, and members of one team focus their research on teens’ online relationship patterns.

“There are a lot of studies being conducted on online activities by teenagers but they do not say why,” Brown said.

Liberty students said teens are sometimes unaware of online dangers, and they hope the research will help spread awareness.

“Even though we focus on all the dangers of sex trafficking and all other crimes that make the headlines, we often forget the dangers of the internet and how disastrous it can be,” Danson said.

Danson’s passion for helping teens has grown as she continues her research, which could help her with future endeavors, according to psychology professor Fred Volk.

“It is a program designed to get students the kind of experience that will make them competitive when they are applying to graduate school, especially those graduate schools that research is viewed as a valuable asset,” Volk said.

The research is also beneficial to parents who might be unaware that their children are forming relationships online, according to the professors.

“It really is sad because you do not want to stifle their innocence but you want to protect them,” Brown said.