MySpace.com is described as an Internet site devoted to social networking. Any rational adult who’s spent more than a few minutes on MySpace might well conclude that it, like much of cyberspace, appeals to the lowest common denominator. I won’t bore – or repulse – you with specifics. Let’s just say that you probably wouldn’t feel comfortable with your mother, unless mumsie is Madonna, visiting many MySpace pages.
Tasteless photos and cartoons and deviant thoughts litter the website. Catchphrases rule. Banal ideas are expressed in crude English.
There are folks, often women, seen in shopping malls carrying on lengthy cell phone conversations. You might ask, as I have, is there really another person on the other end of that long, mind-numbing conversation? Hearing snippets of chatter along the lines of “I just had a taco, I like tacos, do you like tacos?, what are you eating?,” I’ve sometimes wondered where in the world the callers find anyone willing to put up with such extended blather.
Now I think I know. My guess is that they get their phone buddies on MySpace. There are some very lonely people there.
Obviously, MySpace isn’t my place. But some adults might find what they’re looking for there, and that’s their business. Unless, of course, if what they’re looking for is a child to molest.
The biggest problem is that MySpace, which claims to be “a place for friends,” has become a playground for sexual predators. To register, a user only has to be at least 14 years of age. That restriction is easily ignored. There have been numerous reports of crimes and attempted crimes against children in which the site has played a role.
MySpace may be a victim of its own success. With a reported user base in the tens of millions and a quarter of a million people signing up daily, the three-year old site may not have been prepared for the abuses it’s experienced.
In April, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the Advertising Council, and News Corporation, which owns MySpace, started running public service advertisements intended to raise awareness of Internet safety. In May, a law targeting “social networks” and Internet chat rooms was proposed in Congress. The legislation would block access to those sites in federally funded schools and libraries.
Many schools have already decided on their own to limit access on their computers. In a move that was guaranteed to fan the flames of teen outrage, a school district in Illinois recently took action to hold students accountable for what they post on websites such as MySpace. Actions like that are usually condemned as censorship. To which the appropriate response may well be, so what? Children don’t have the same rights as adults. And acting goofy online at taxpayer expense isn’t constitutionally protected, no matter what the ACLU may claim.
On the other hand, regulating access to social networking sites is much easier said than done. One need not have the technological prowess of Internet inventor Al Gore to circumvent many blocking measures. Add to that the government’s general clumsiness in securing whatever results it intends and there realistically isn’t much reason to think that legislation will have a great impact.
If there’s going to be anything close to a resolution of the problems inherent to MySpace and similar sites, it’ll have to be initiated by parents. Knowing where children go on the Internet, what they do there, and with whom they communicate are essential. There is monitoring software that can help.
Kids might scream about their privacy being violated, but families aren’t democracies. They’re dictatorships and part of a parent’s responsibility is to protect their children as best they can for as long as they can.
Last month a reporter wrote in the Los Angeles Times that she’d covered many disquieting events in her career, “But in nearly two decades of journalism, nothing has made my insides churn like seeing what my 13-year-old daughter and her friends are up to on MySpace.com.”
MySpace isn’t for everyone. We can only hope enough parents realize that in time.
January 3rd, 2007 at 7:07 am
I admire you on the willingness to share this info with others – good luck!
January 5th, 2007 at 11:33 am
just a quick hello and congratulations to your nice website ! i’ll visit you again!
January 5th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I’d just like to thank you for taking the time to create this internet website. It has been extremely helpful
January 6th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Wow! I didn’t know that site was that good!
January 7th, 2007 at 5:46 am
I really like the layout and colors that you chose for this website! It certainly is incredible!
January 11th, 2007 at 6:49 am
thank you for your wonderful web site. I liked it very, very much.
January 11th, 2007 at 6:51 am
Good morning, I am new to this site. I have just learned about this site. I am going to read on and it’s very interesting to know
January 13th, 2007 at 6:47 am
Very exceptional pieces of information. Very nice webpage though. I applaud
January 13th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
What a great web site…
January 17th, 2007 at 2:20 am
good work, will back soon, great site congratulation!!
January 17th, 2007 at 8:56 am
This is such a wonderful and informative way to reach others. I Will be more than glad to share this site
January 17th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Ein wirklich sehr Interessante Seite mit guten Informationen.
January 17th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
Hi I thank you for a wonderful site. You have done very good job.
January 18th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Buy bargain deal online medications here – I can recommend it!
January 20th, 2007 at 3:37 am
Like the site very much, thanx 4 your efforts webmasters
January 21st, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I came accross this website today searching for any informations. I did not find them, but your site was very interesting.
January 22nd, 2007 at 12:09 am
Hi from New York And thanks for the web site. It was just the thing I had been looking for. It has helped me no end. Thanks again
January 22nd, 2007 at 5:36 pm
good URL!!!!!!!!!!!!
January 24th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
I just surfed in and found your site, I really enjoyed the visit and hope to come back soon. nice Site!
January 25th, 2007 at 2:25 am
Wow, this is a great web site. I am so glad I found it, thank you. It is funny, I was just talking to my friend about their web site, and they said they like your site too!
January 27th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
I have admire your unselfishness in taking the time to make this web site.
January 28th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Please let me know if there are any equally great sites like this you can recommend to me. Thanks Again
January 28th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
Double WOW 2 your design!
January 29th, 2007 at 3:55 am
Finding your websight was like finding a needle in a haystack.
January 29th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Hi, just surfed in. I enjoyed looking around your web site. This site has been very useful to me so far and I have barely scrathed the surface of it.
January 29th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
You have a good site, i enjoyed my stay!
January 29th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
This site is truly a great resource thanks for all your hard work
January 30th, 2007 at 5:32 am
howdy I quite enjoyed this website .
January 30th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Nice page. It’s good to have kids who can use this medium to find you
January 31st, 2007 at 12:56 am
U’ve got good pics, the site could use a tiny bit of work (no offense) its still awesome
January 31st, 2007 at 4:21 pm
The stuff on this web site is really witty and cool wise
February 1st, 2007 at 9:13 am
Buy bargain deal online medications here – I can recommend it!
February 2nd, 2007 at 7:02 am
nice site, very informative, well designed, easy to use … what can i say ? i love it…
February 6th, 2007 at 9:34 am
In Zeiten von massenhaft Websitenmüll im Internet eine sehr gut aufgebaute Website, nicht überdimensioniertes Design und sehr gut recher-schierte Hintergrundinformationen.
February 7th, 2007 at 5:11 am
I really enjoy looking through your website
February 7th, 2007 at 11:20 am
interesting site
February 7th, 2007 at 6:37 pm
You have a great website. Keep up the good work.
February 8th, 2007 at 3:17 am
perfect site !!!!!!!! Perfect piece of work fellows !!!!!!!
February 8th, 2007 at 6:36 am
Thank you for the great web site – a true resource, and one many people clearly enjoy
February 8th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Hello, I just wanted to say you have a very informative site which really made me think, Thanks ! A site with a wealth of info.!…thanks very much! Have a nice Day!!
February 12th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
Thanks for a lovely site, I am very impressed
February 12th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
What a nice site, been surfing on it for the whole night and day and i neva got bored for a single minute. Keep up your good work and all of the best in everything you do!
February 12th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
COOL !!!
February 12th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Hi I thank you for a wonderful site. You have done very good job.
February 13th, 2007 at 4:01 am
This is a great page. And the contents are really that worth reading. I will add this to my own library
February 14th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Hallo thank you for a lovely web site I enjoyed
February 14th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
I found your website after I have been surfing the internet to be useful
February 15th, 2007 at 1:34 am
SarahBell ( ) wrote:
February 15th, 2007 at 1:36 am
Hi! very amused by the website .
February 15th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
- – - = = = H i ! _ G a y s _ T h a n k _ y o u _ f o r _ s u c h _ a n _ i n f o r m a t i v e _ w e b s i t e . . V e r i _ i n t e r e s t i n _ a n _ e a y _ t o _ c o m p r e h e n d – T h a n x ! – - = = A l l , N i c e _ s i t e , _ I _h a v e _ b e e n _ s e e i n g _ s o m e _ r e a l l y i n t e r e s t i n g _ c o m m e n t s . . . _ g o i n g _ t o _ t e l l _ m e _ f r i e n d _ l o u i s e _ a b o u t _ t h i s _ s i t e ! ! = = = – - -