There was a recent case in Orlando, FL where a 28 year old man began a relationship online with who he thought was a 19 year old girl. The two had sexual relations many times and it wasn't until the cops showed up at the man's door that he found out she was only 12 years old. When they met on MySpace, the girl had lied about her age.

Now I know these tragic cases are far and few, but the underlying message is that with anonymity on the Internet, parents and their kids need to recognize that giving false information out to strangers - even when it's just for fun - can lead to dangerous situation from cyberbullying to online predators.

In an article in the Orlando Sentinel, Portland State University senior research associate, Kris Gowan is quoted saying:

"Parents can't assume that their children are isolated from social-networking sites. If they don't log on at home, they'll log on at a friend's house or through their Web-enabled cell phones. There's really nothing new here. Kids have been lying about their ages for years to get what they want. What's new is that the Internet has broader implications for our youth, with severe repercussions."

And this is true. Kids, especially girls have always tried to appear older than they are to attract attention from guys. They also have constant access to the Internet on their cell phones and iphones, they can log into social networking sites any time they want! Some kids are more inclined to engage in risky behaviors -- online and offline.  Parents need to step in and talk to their kids about Internet use and find out what social networks they are joining and what websites they are visiting because the implications can be much more severe.