I realize this is an unpopular and unusual perspective. As a father, these things concern me. However, this stuff is getting out of hand. The next thing they'll do is start a network just for To Catch A Predator.

I'm sure that probably all of you have seen the show To Catch A Predator on MSNBC or the highlights shown on Dateline NBC. At first I thought "Holy crap! These are just the guys they're catching at that location on that particular day! There must be millions of these people!" How alarming. I'm pretty sure that the makers of the television show hope that we think just that - we're beseiged by sexual predators just waiting for an easy opportunity to molest our children. Watching more "To Catch A Predator" is the only solution.

There are really two problems with this as I see it. The first is a simple sampling error. These scenarios where a guy shows up at some house to meet a willing teenager are stings. Of course, the fine fellows that are chatting online with who they think is a young teen, are not among our society's finest. They are basically guys with too much time on their hands, poor judgement, and just basically losers. So they get in these chat rooms and lo and behold they "accidently" stumble into a chat with a willing teen, who just happens to say all the right things. They are sexually curious, interested in older men, and willing to meet a complete stranger for sex. Wow, and is it surprising that these internet losers sometimes go along with it and show up at a house?

Here's the problem... If these fellows were on a normal chatting session they may have a vague intention of chatting to a young teen, but probably not much more planning than that. Normally, real young girls (or boys) will not encourage these guys. They won't even chat with them, let alone offer sex. They'll simply see that there is some sicko online and block that person. End of story. These guys are surely capable of having bad judgement; the kind of judgement that may make it seem rational to go to the house of a teenager's parents in hope of having sex. Yes, the potential for that terrible judgement is there. But, it almost always has to be they never have the opportunity to indulge their bad judgements. "To Catch A Predator" creates an artificial situation designed specifically to indulge these individuals, and they find them. But I don't for one minute think that this is an epidemic. The sampling error is due to specifically targeting this population of men. It's not representative. The men are self-selecting themselves into the the pool by getting on the chat, then the show goes further by luring them in with exactly the right words. I think we can rest safely that this is not going on ten fold. Without question, there are people around us everyday who may be susceptible to terrible judgement if they get in one of these chat rooms. But it rarely goes past the chat room.

The second problem with all of this is the fact that it's entertainment. On the one hand, the show may discourage some guys from following through with a real encounter (which I'm theorizing is very rare). Those with slightly better judgement may think twice before going to the house because they don't want to be on MSNBC. So there is theoretically a deterrent effect. However, for all the rest of us, it's plain and simple voyeurism. We enjoy relishing the embarassment the guys go through. We laugh at them and respond with horror, and it's all a bunch of good fun. MSNBC is getting great rating from these shows. Why? Because we love to watch the humiliation.

Are some of these guys complete creeps? Probably. The naked guy is clearly insane. He's a total compulsive sex addict. The rest of those guys simply have bad judgement. If placed in the situation, they'll make the wrong choice. Fortunately, the situation is rare. Consequently, the show is far more about public humiliation than serving a useful purpose. They could snare those few true predators without putting them on TV. I don't pretend to think the issue of sexual predators and the internet is simplistic, but it isn't the way it's presented on "To Catch A Predator".

Labels: Catch, Dateline, MSNBC, Predator