I can understand the lure of the internet as a means of making new friends. Teachers talk a lot about the dangers and they do exist. However pupils are attracted by the safety as much as the dangers. They see it as an opportunity to play with monsters at a safe distance.
You are much safer in cyberspace than RL.
IRL someone can stick a knife into you. Unless there is something seriously strange about your peripherals you don't face such dangers on your computer!
Personally I never meet anyone IRL I have met online. (I know one person who is smiling about this now - well there are exceptions to every rule A!)
Hiding behind an alias and keeping a safe distance from people they chat with; being aware that the 14 year old girl is probably a 40 year old FBI agent and realising that someone in Africa probably doesn't want to give you millions of dollars. These things are probably part of growing up and perhaps less harmful than other rites of passage like smoking behind the bike shed.
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