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The Youth Internet Safety Survey was a series of two surveys conducted in the United States in 1999 and 2004. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) provided funding to Dr.David Finkelhor, Director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire , to conduct a research survey in 1999 on Internet victimization of youth. His research was cited by the United States Department of Justice as "the best profile of this problem to date".

The typical bully used to torment unlucky victims out in the open -- in school hallways, for instance -- spitting out insults and disparaging remarks for anyone to hear and see. But times have changed. Bullying has gone high-tech and anonymous, although it's just as humiliating. The Internet and cell-phone text messages are the new mediums for "cyberbullies." They post nasty pictures or messages about others in blogs and on Web sites or exploit another person's online user name to spread rumors about others.

media type="custom" key="11990197" media type="custom" key="11993125" Sexual predators do exist and are a very real threat. They target both boys and girls of all ages and use the anonymity of the Internet to their advantage since they can be whomever they want. Many are master manipulators with skills that can cripple any child's sense of awareness. This is known as the grooming process and predators look for children that are more technically savvy than their parents. They look for children that are emotionally vulnerable which can be related to personal issues derived from problems at school or home.