Humans are Natural Predators

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According to a new study, genetics and evolution have made an impact on the murderous behavior of the human species. However, becoming civilized has tamed some of these instincts.

7HScientists have looked at the homicide rate of more than 1,000 species that kill their own, and noticed that there are similar rates of lethal acts. Essentially, this means that the evolution of these species can tell us a lot about how violent the species is.

This study, which was published in Nature, says that humans lie in the middle of a quite violent group of mammals that have all evolved together…and these mammals have a very violent and murderous past. What does this mean for us? It means that humans have likely inherited violent tendencies from our ancestors.

Let’s look at the numbers. When looked at as a group, the rate of all mammals murdering their own is about three in 1,000. However, when we look at our ancestors, and many primates, for that matter, this number is closer to about 20 in 1,000. In certain periods of time, this number even rose to about 120 in 1,000, such as during the medieval era, which ran from around 700 to 1500 A.D. Fortunately, we have seen these numbers fall, and when you take humans, alone, the current rate is about 13 in 1,000. So, we are now much less violent than we were just 1,000 years ago.

It’s true that we, as humans, are killing each other less than we used to, but we are still not as peaceful as some of our mammalian cousins. For example, killer whales, which are one animal that has a high level of intelligence, has a rate of violence against its own of around zero. In fact, most whale species are quite peaceful to their own kind.

So, we are more violent than whales, but when compared to mammals such as baboons, cougars, and lemurs, we are far less violent, as these animals have murder rates closer to 100 per 1,000.

Since this study examined violence in a way that compared closely related species, it’s not a surprise that these species had similar levels when looking at violence. Furthermore, the more closely related a species is to another, the more similar their levels of violence.

It is difficult to calculate rates for lethal violence for our ancestors, but we can get a rough idea based on looking at archaeological findings. What was found after looking at thousands of these sites is that things such as culture and government lower the rates of lethal violence. This also suggests that the level of murder among species is reversible, and that it might increase or decrease based on social, ecological, or cultural factors. These findings are similar to a previous study from Harvard that looked at the history of violent crimes, such as rape, as well as war, murder, and bigotry.

When we look at all of these facts, humans are social, territorial, and naturally violent. But, as modern society has become developed and we have engaged in more civilized activities, the rates of violence have fallen. What’s really interesting is that this study shows that most mammals are not murderous towards their own kind, but others, such as wolves, lions, and primates, including humans, actually do engage in this behavior. What it could come down to is that mammals that are murderous towards their own kind are both territorial and social.

Robert Siciliano personal security and identity theft expert and speaker is the author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Your Identity Was Stolen. See him knock’em dead in this identity theft prevention video.

Feds warn of more Online Predators

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What goes on in the home life of a 14-year-old girl such that she feels there’s nothing better to do than send nude photos of herself to a man whom she’s been corresponding with online? Though this goes well-beyond the parents not bothering to find out what their kids do online, another huge issue is the proliferation of online predators.

2WAnd for parents who DO care enough to monitor their kids’ cyber activities, here’s some unsettling news: A 2013 survey called  Digital Deception: Exploring the Online Disconnect between Parents and Kids revealed that 69 percent of the young respondents reported they knew how to conceal their online activities from their parents. The study also showed that 80 percent of the parent-respondents said they wouldn’t even know how to figure out what their kids’ online activities were. Conclusion: Parents are clueless.

This makes it easier for predators to find victims. There’s the case of a girl who, at age 13, sent an image of herself to a 26 year old man who for the next five years cyber-harassed her, demanding more images. The girl was driven to two suicide attempts and finally alerted authorities who found him.

Another predator tricked a 15-year-old into sending him photos who turned out to be a 50 year old man. They do this by sending photos of younger cuter boys around the same age as their victim females. Parent need to have ongoing dialog with their kids that this is going on everyday somewhere and “it can happen to you too”

These act can often be prevented which once again, brings to mind what kind of parenting or lack of parenting is going on. Though parents can’t monitor their kids’ activities every second, something has to be said about why a young person’s life would be so empty that they end up sending out nude photos of themselves—even if the victim thinks the recipient is the same age!

What Parents Should Do

  • Educate kids about online predators
  • Educate yourself about online predators
  • Warn kids about never sending images into cyber space
  • Make sure kids understand that they will never be shamed for reporting a perilous situation
  • Tell kids that no matter how aggressive or threatening a cyber predator seems to be, they ultimately don’t have that much power; they’re ground meat once the authorities find them.
  • The less time kids spend tinkering around on the Internet, the less likely they’ll meet up with a predator. Get your kids involved in confidence-building activities that develop independent thinking skills and assertiveness.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to BestHomeSecurityCompanys.com discussing burglar proofing your home on Fox Boston. Disclosures.

Protecting Children on the Internet

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Today’s kids don’t even know what it’s like to not be connected to the Internet. But being technology savvy doesn’t mean they are safe and secure.

Since the Internet as we know it was born in the early 1990s, it has become an integral part of our and our kids’ lives. Online shopping, social media, mobile web, and computers in the classroom are as normal to them as riding a Huffy bicycle was to me. For these kids’ parents, the online world often feels too fast and too complicated. Nevertheless, it is essential that parents educate themselves on safe, secure online practices in order to set a positive example and provide guidance for their children as they navigate the web.

Fortunately, safe and appropriate online behavior isn’t much different than in the real world. The main distinction is that on the Internet, it is necessary to be particularly sensitive regarding how and with whom you communicate.

Parents who lack experience with the Internet, computers, or mobile phones must learn the basics before they can adequately monitor their children’s habits. A parent’s discomfort or unfamiliarity with technology is no excuse to let a child run wild on the Internet.

As with any task, one should start with the fundamentals. In recognition of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, let’s go over some of those fundamentals:

  • Spend as much time as possible with kids in their online world. Learn about the people with whom they interact, the places they visit, and the information they encounter. Be prepared to respond appropriately, regardless of what sort of content they find. Remember, this is family time.
  • One popular tactic has been to set up the computer in a high-traffic family area, and to limit the time children may spend using it. This is still good advice, but it becomes less feasible as more children have their own laptops and mobile phones, which can’t be so easily monitored.
  • Teach children to recognize inappropriate behavior. Kids will be kids, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to say mean things, send racy pictures, make rude requests, or suggest illegal behavior. If it isn’t okay in the physical world, it isn’t okay on the Internet.
  • Consider investing in computer security software with parental controls, which limit the sites kids can access.
  • Decide exactly what is and is not okay with regards to the kinds of websites kids should visit. This dialogue helps parents and children develop a process for determining appropriate online behavior.
  • Children should be restricted to monitored, age-appropriate chat rooms. Spend time with your children to get a feel for the language and discussion occurring on the websites they wish to visit.
  • Do not allow children to create usernames that reveal their true identities or are provocative.
  • Children should be reminded never to reveal passwords, addresses, phone numbers, or other personal information.
  • Kids should not be permitted to post inappropriate photos or photos that may reveal their identities. (For example, a photo in which a t-shirt bears the name of the child’s city or school.)
  • Never allow a child to meet an online stranger in person.
  • Children should be taught not to open online attachments from strangers.

Robert Siciliano, personal security expert contributor to Just Ask Gemalto, discusses online predators on Fox News. Disclosures