Ambigua (Dec 2014)
La représentation médiatique du leurre d’enfants à l’aide des nouvelles technologies: une mise en mots et en maux
Abstract
The emergence of new technologies has long been a source of anxiety for many ‘claims-makers’, especially those interested in the well-being and sex-ual safety of children. Today the media and parliamentarians are particularly concerned by the possibility that malicious individuals will use technological innovations to seduce and/or sexually abuse children. In this article we high-light how the media employ rhetorical and argumentative strategies to portray Internet Child Luring (ICL) in such a way that it may inspire the creation of criminal laws intended to address this ‘new social problem’. We therefore in-vestigate the phenomenon of ICL as described by three of the most widely read Toronto newspapers between 1998 and 2008. We show that, due to as-sumptions of its increasing frequency, its perceived nature and gravity, and its characterisation of children as victims of sexual abuse, ICL is constructed as a serious social problem which is exacerbated by the concerns that generally surround technological advancements.
