Abstract: Public perception of deleterious youth experiences on the Internet has been largely shaped by sensationalist mass media coverage. However, research conducted by the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire tells a story that seemingly contradicts the lurid picture painted by tabloids and cable news outlets. Over the past five years, the Center has conducted two national, cross-sectional telephone surveys of youths and their caretakers to determine the incidence of unwanted sexual solicitation, harassment, and unwanted exposure to pornography experienced by adolescents [[1]Wolak J. Mitchell K. Finkelhor D. Online victimization of youth: five years later. 2006Google Scholar]. The overall incidence and five-year trends are presented in this issue of the Journal by Mitchell et al [[2]Mitchell K. Wolak J. Finkelhor D. Trends in youth reports of sexual solicitations, harassment and unwanted exposure to pornography on the Internet.J Adolesc Health. 2007; 40: 116-126Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (131) Google Scholar]. These findings help provide some insight into the murky elements of Internet exploitation nationwide, yet do not construct a comprehensive image of youth on the Internet. In comparing data between 2000 and 2005, Mitchell et al found, among other things, a significant decline in the overall percentage of youth reporting unwanted sexual solicitations. This finding did not apply to minority youth or youth from lower income households when considered separately. Solicitations characterized as being “aggressive” (those most likely to evolve into a crime) remained static. Girls were more likely than boys to report sexual solicitation, and, finally, the number of youth who reported they harassed others while online doubled [[2]Mitchell K. Wolak J. Finkelhor D. Trends in youth reports of sexual solicitations, harassment and unwanted exposure to pornography on the Internet.J Adolesc Health. 2007; 40: 116-126Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (131) Google Scholar]. This is a far more complex puzzle than commonly presented by the media. Current programs such as Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator” have instilled a sense of immediacy and fear in parents and providers about youths’ experiences online, while also seriously mischaracterizing that encounter. To call the sexual solicitation of minors by unknown adults (online predators) “a national epidemic” [[3]Dateline NBC. “To Catch a Predator” [cited 2006 Nov 9]. Available from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11152602/. Feb 4 2006.Google Scholar] as Dateline does is to misrepresent the scope of the problem. Certainly, sexual solicitation of minors by adults is a problem, but is the Internet really the major source? Indeed, the greatest threat posed to youth, whether on the Internet or off, comes from adults whom they already know or their own peers [4Wolak J. Finkelhor D. Mitchell K. Internet-initiated sex crimes against minors: implications for prevention based on findings from a national study.J Adolesc Health. 2004; 35 (e11–20): 424PubMed Google Scholar, 5Irwin C. Rickert V. Coercive sexual experiences during adolescence and young adulthood: a public health problem.J Adolesc Health. 2005; 36: 359-361Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (22) Google Scholar]. Although Dateline and many other media outlets would have us believe that the true perpetrator of victimization online is a middle-aged man stalking youth-oriented chat rooms, this perception is not consistent with reported data. Previous studies have shown that nearly half of unwanted sexual solicitations toward youth online come from other youth [[4]Wolak J. Finkelhor D. Mitchell K. Internet-initiated sex crimes against minors: implications for prevention based on findings from a national study.J Adolesc Health. 2004; 35 (e11–20): 424PubMed Google Scholar]. A similar proportion of adolescents are responsible for online harassment as well [[6]Ybarra M. Mitchell K. Online aggressor/targets, aggressors, and targets: a comparison of associated youth characteristics.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2004; 45 (7): 1308-1316Crossref PubMed Scopus (764) Google Scholar]. In both cases a majority of the incidents involved individuals who knew one another [4Wolak J. Finkelhor D. Mitchell K. Internet-initiated sex crimes against minors: implications for prevention based on findings from a national study.J Adolesc Health. 2004; 35 (e11–20): 424PubMed Google Scholar, 6Ybarra M. Mitchell K. Online aggressor/targets, aggressors, and targets: a comparison of associated youth characteristics.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2004; 45 (7): 1308-1316Crossref PubMed Scopus (764) Google Scholar]. Even when considering the stereotypical scenario of an older adult propositioning a minor, the FBI reports that only 3% of solicited youth actually respond to the perpetrator [[7]Internet Safety for the Wired Generation: Advice from FBI Cyber Expert Arnold Bell on Protecting Our Children [cited 2004 Nov 9]. Available from: http://www.fbi.gov/page2/sept04/cac090104.htm. Sept 2004.Google Scholar]. Findings from a national study of Internet-initiated sex crimes (n = 129) indicate that 95% of the youth who decided to follow-up an initial solicitation with a meeting offline knew this person was an older adult seeking sex [[4]Wolak J. Finkelhor D. Mitchell K. Internet-initiated sex crimes against minors: implications for prevention based on findings from a national study.J Adolesc Health. 2004; 35 (e11–20): 424PubMed Google Scholar]. Youth clearly have a particular agency online that isn’t being addressed in popular media. Our research may be missing it as well. Ybarra et al note there is a “paucity of research based on representative samples of young people,” on the Internet [[8]Ybarra M. Leaf P. Diener-West M. Sex differences in youth-reported depressive symptomatology and unwanted Internet sexual solicitation.J Med Internet Res. 2004; 6 (e5): 1Crossref Scopus (30) Google Scholar]. Previous studies have mentioned that, while seeking information related to sexuality, gay and questioning youth are particularly vulnerable to solicitation by adults seeking sex online [[5]Irwin C. Rickert V. Coercive sexual experiences during adolescence and young adulthood: a public health problem.J Adolesc Health. 2005; 36: 359-361Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (22) Google Scholar], yet there is no information related to adolescent sexual minorities, their use of the Internet, and their experience of sexual solicitation in this current study. Similarly, we are left wondering if the lack of progress against solicitation in racial minority communities is due to poor prevention messaging or biased sampling. These data indicate that current prevention strategies about stranger-danger on the Internet do not reflect the real dynamics involved in adolescents’ online relationships. Unfortunately, prevention efforts targeting harassment and sexual violence, whether in real space or cyberspace, are still in their infancy. Violence is preventable, but programs must begin early and target both genders. What is needed is research on adolescents that focuses specifically on empirically grounded, developmentally appropriate prevention programs [[9]Wolfe D.A. Wekerle C. Scott K. et al.Dating violence prevention with at-risk youth: a controlled outcome evaluation.J Consult Clin Psychol. 2003; 71: 279-291Crossref PubMed Scopus (283) Google Scholar]. We cannot allow conversations about Internet sexual predators to distract us from the greater threat to adolescent health: coercive sexual experience. Whether initiated online or offline, this type of exploitation (including sexual assault) is the real epidemic among adolescents and young adults—characterized by both high rates of occurrence and infrequent disclosure [[10]Rickert V.I. Wiemann C.M. Vaughan R.D. Disclosure of date/acquaintance rape: who reports and when.J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2005; 18: 17-24Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (37) Google Scholar]. In fact, adolescent and young adult females are four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than women in all other age groups [[11]Rickert V.I. Wiemann C.M. Vaughan R.D. White J.W. Rates and risk factors for sexual violence among an ethnically diverse sample of adolescents.Arch Pediatric Adolesc Med. 2004; 158: 1132-1139Crossref PubMed Scopus (75) Google Scholar]. In many cases, these unwanted sexual experiences have been committed by someone known to the victim, either a peer or an adult [[10]Rickert V.I. Wiemann C.M. Vaughan R.D. Disclosure of date/acquaintance rape: who reports and when.J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2005; 18: 17-24Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (37) Google Scholar]. Coercive sexual experience is one part of the continuum of relationship violence and has been experienced by adolescents of both genders regardless of sexual orientation, global location, culture, ethnicity, or socioeconomic advantage [[12]Irwin Jr, C.E. Rickert V.I. Coercive sexual experiences during adolescence and young adulthood: a public health problem.J Adolesc Health. 2005; 36: 359-361Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (18) Google Scholar]. We can no longer conceptualize the Internet as the greatest source of abuse and exploitation for youth, nor can we depict adolescents as merely playing a passive, recipient role while online. It is essential we recognize the reciprocal nature of harassment and solicitation in order to design research and practice that is both representative and meaningful.