What are the dangers of chat rooms and instant messaging?

What are the dangers of chat rooms and instant messaging?

Ward Leber (CEO) gives expert video advice on: What should I warn my child about instant messaging?; How do I monitor my child's chats and IMs?; Should I warn my child that I am monitoring his chats or IMs? and more...

The dangers of chat rooms and instant messaging are all the same as the dangers of actually meeting some stranger or somebody who could be dangerous. You're in contact with people where you really have a huge veil. You don't know whether or not these people that you're chatting with are anything like the people that they say they are. They can say they're a man and they're really a female, they can say they're a kid and they're really an adult. You really don't know who you're chatting with. If it's a personal friend of yours and you're instant messaging talking to him, such as some kid that you know at school, that's okay, depending on what you're chatting about. At least you know who they are. The biggest danger is trying to communicate with people where you don't know who they really are and you don't know their intentions.