Strategies and cues adolescents use to assess the age of an online stranger

Figures & data

Table 1. Alarm signals and techniques adolescent girls use to check an online stranger.

Signal	Technique	Mentioned in no. of groups?
Stranger’s approach	Just the fact that an unknown person adds you to, for instance, Facebook creates suspicion. Most adolescents directly ask someone how they know them and why they should add them to their friend list.	15
Suspicious content	The other person makes sexual comments or gestures, gives a lot of compliments, or immediately asks for photos. Someone immediately wants to go to a private online environment or importunes by sending comments about photos, sending many chat messages, or friend requests (sometimes referred to as stalking). The other person uses a threatening tone or sends actual threats.	13
Stranger is from abroad	Friend requests appear to be from foreigners who speak English or use Google translate. Their goal, according to the girls, is to get married and move to the Netherlands.	9
Conspicuous picture	A picture is too good to be true or easily found on Tumbler. Strangers who have their real photo online, showing that they are actually much older. Other pictures on the profile reveal the actual age.	6
Friend network	Having a lot of friends, not having only teen girls as friends, and peers of the adolescent knowing the online stranger makes the stranger more reliable. Or girls check with friends if they know the unknown person.	6
Strange name	Having strange names like ‘hotboy053’ or ‘f929’.	5
Suspicious language	Using much punctuation, a lack of connecting words, making longer sentences, using smileys or speaking a foreign language.	4
Sending webcam requests	Immediately sending webcam requests and when agreed on, showing genitalia in front of the webcam.	4
Sending (sexual) photos	Immediately sending personal photos (that can be quite sexually explicit).	3
Suspicious profile	Profile contains ‘dirty’ content. Place of residency. Age. Time already active on Facebook.	3

Table 2. Success in assessing a stranger’s age.

Video	Correct		Incorrect		Not sure
	N	%	n	%	n	%
Video 1: groomer complimentary	18	45	4	10	18	45
Video 2: groomer mentor	10	25	9	23	21	53
Video 3: groomer experience congruence	19	48	6	15	15	38
Video 4: adolescent	21	53	4	10	15	38
Total	68	43	23	14	69	43

Table 3. Uncertainty Reduction Strategies.

Strategy	Description	Times mentioned
Passive	Scan profile page, check origin, check contact list (number of friends, gender, age), check for mutual friends, look for additional photos	12
Active	Ask mutual friend about stranger, verify profile information (e.g., school or sports club)	12
Interactive	Start conversation, video chat, request additional photos, request telephone number and start conversation on WhatsApp, call the unknown person to hear voice	12

Table 4. Content and language cues mentioned.

	Content cues	Language cues
Cues adolescents disagreed on	Being impatient Being complimentary Focusing on meeting offline	Use of specific words like ‘schatje’ (babe)
Cues adolescents agreed on	Being very personal while ignoring personal questions Being overly interested and behaving as a friend Being more direct and sexually focused	Being polite in word usage Using punctuation, and/or longer sentences Less use of abbreviations Less application of word shortening, and less omission of redundant letters