One of the commonly accepted mantras is that the Internet is a very dangerous place for kids—especially social networking sites, where innocent youngsters can be approached by strangers offering them virtual candy—hence the recent moves by sites such as MySpace to tighten up access controls for younger users. A new study from the National School Boards Association suggests strongly that many of those fears are misplaced and that the overwhelming majority of kids have never had an unknown adult ask them for personal information.

The NSBA study (PDF) was carried out by surveying 1,277 students aged 9 to 17, 1,039 parents, and 250 school administrators with decision-making power over Internet policy. Funded in part by Microsoft, News Corp. (which owns MySpace). and Verizon, the study paints a picture of Internet safety that differs significantly from that commonly depicted by the mainstream media.

Of the over 1,200 students surveyed, only seven percent said that they have been the victims of cyberbullying. That figure is in stark contrast to a report issued a couple of months ago by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. In a survey of 935 teens aged between 12 and 17, nearly a third of them reported that they had experienced some form of cyberbullying.

Three percent of the kids surveyed said that unwelcome strangers attempted to communicate with them online. Two percent said that such a person attempted to arrange an in-person meeting. A miniscule .08 percent of the kids responding to the survey said that they went through with such a meeting without their parents' permission.

In contrast, school administrators believe that social networking sites are a significant cause of problems for students. 52 percent of the districts surveyed said that students being free and easy with personal information online has been "a significant problem" despite the fact that only 3 percent of the students in the same study ever reported doing so. The NSBA notes that there is a similar disparity on the subject of cyberbullying.

Should schools relax their restrictions on social networking sites, as tech.blorge.com suggests? Problems arise when a student does meet up with an online predator with tragic results or a particularly bad case of cyberbullying hits the media. The end result is predictable: repeated calls for schools to ban access to social networking sites, forums, and even instant messaging services.

Most schools already have such bans in place: 84 percent of the districts surveyed ban online chat and 81 percent ban IMs. A little over half of the schools bar access to social networking sites, while 62 percent prohibit participation in forums. 60 percent have also banned e-mail.

The report concludes with a handful of recommendations, the most controversial of which is likely to be a suggestion that schools reexamine social networking policies. "Safety policies remain important, as does teaching students about online safety and responsible online expression," the study's authors note. "But students may learn these lessons better while they're actually using social networking tools."

One might look askance at such a recommendation, given that the study was funded in part by MySpace's corporate parent—not to mention the fact that kids should be getting their learn on when they're in school. But much of the data in the study underlies the NSBA's assertion that the vast majority of students are aware of the dangers that may await them online. Perhaps all of the warnings and attention paid to Internet safety are actually having the desired effect on kids.