Do a quick search of Google News for “MySpace sexual assault” and these are some of the headlines you’ll see:
- Buda Man Indicted In MySpace Sexual Assault
- Michigan Man Busted During MySpace Rondevous
- Sex assault fugitive surrenders to police
- MySpace Molester Surrenders On Charges)
No wonder many people, especially parents, shudder and the mention of MySpace. Critics loudly denounce MySpace saying, “It’s a feeding ground for pedophiles!” “Kids post suggestive photos of themselves.” “It’s a forum for all sorts of vulgar expression.” Yet a recent survey found that 61% of American 13-17 year olds have a MySpace profile. Is MySpace safe for teens? For adults?
The short answer is no.
The critics claims are accurate. There are predators that browse MySpace looking for young girls (and boys) to exploit. While MySpace has a strict policy against nudity, some teens do post suggestive photos of themselves. Some people do post vulgar and profane comments and blog articles.
But the fact of the matter is that nothing in this world is 100% safe. Reports of teachers sexually exploiting children are in the news on a regular basis. Go to your local mall and you may see teens that are wearing clothes that make Paris Hilton look modest. Hang out in any high school locker room and you’re likely to hear conversations that would draw heavy fines if broadcast in prime time.
From what I’ve seen, MySpace is not some new harbinger of evil. Sexual predators, amoral people, and teens gone wild didn’t appear on MySpace out of nowhere. MySpace is simply an online expression of the world we live in – the good and the bad.
The question is not whether MySpace is safe because nothing is. The real issue is whether MySpace can be used safely or whether the risk is too great and we ought to stay away from MySpace altogether.
Safety Tips for Parents
At the bottom of every page on MySpace is a link to their Safety Tips. While their tips are useful, I really don’t think they are comprehensive or go far enough. Jonathan McKee, the president of The Source for Youth Ministry, wrote a fantastic article about MySpace which includes some great tips for parents. It’s long but well worth the read. Many of the tips below are based on suggestions in that article.
- If your kids are under 14, just block the site. Even MySpace doesn’t allow users under 14. If you allow your 12 year old to create a MySpace profile, you’re allowing your 12 year old to lie.
- Strongly consider requiring full access. Have your child give you their username and password so you can login and read their private emails, block users, activate privacy settings, and remove comments. Parents of girls need to especially note this. It’s not an uncommon occurrence to receive “friend requests” from random guys of unknown age and origin. Even the most innocent kids will receive disturbing proposals from guys/men who saw their picture while browsing through the profiles of young girls. Be totally up front about the fact that you will be doing this rather than secretly snooping around their account, so that if any issues should arise that you have to address they won’t be shocked and accuse you of violating their privacy.
- At the very least, require your child add you as a friend. If your kid is 17 or 18 years old and they’ve demonstrated good judgment and discernment in the past, you may decide not to require full access which would mean you would not be able to login and read their private messages. But as a “friend” you will still be able to see their blog, pictures, comments, and the other friends they’ve added.
- Some parents might want to only allow their kids to use it with a parent in the same room.
- Select the [Account Setting - Privacy Setting] option called the “My Friends Only” setting. This way, only MySpace friends (the user chooses who his or her MySpace friends are) can view their full profile, pictures, and blog. The default setting is where anyone can see your profile. In other words, any naked 40-year-old man can examine your kid’s pictures, comments and complete profile. If you activate the privacy setting however, they have to send an “Add a Friend” request, which must be approved by the user.
- Activate the “Approve Comments before Posting” setting keeps others from posting anything on the user’s own page without his or her approval. You can also check “Friend Only Blog Comments” so that only friends can make comments in the first place.
- Explain to your child that they are not to approve any Friend Requests from people they do not know. This is HUGE! People can claim to be anyone they want to be on MySpace. A person’s profile might say she’s a 17 year old girl from Australia looking for a pen pal but could be a 30 year old guy from across town with a criminal record. Once someone is approved as a friend, they can see your child’s profile, blog, pictures, and so on.
- Don’t allow unsupervised browsing. The “browse” feature on MySpace is where people can really wander into racy areas. Browsing is when you do a search for other people who you want to meet, or to just gawk at their pictures and profile anonymously. You type in the zip code (if any), age range, gender, status (single, married, divorced…), and what you’re looking for (dating, networking, friends, or relationships). Then click “Update.” This will bring up a list of thumbnail pics for you to look at. If kids select their schools, however, then they can browse for kids closer to their own age. MySpace will then offer a more customized “school” search for ages as low as 16 currently. These 16-year-old profiles are usually less trashy. Rule of thumb: the lower the age, the less chance of hitting risqué pictures.
- Peek in on your kids and their friends. Kids are so brutally honest on MySpace that they say more than they realize. MySpace allows you to be a fly on the wall to 90% of the conversation kids are having-kids post vulnerable stuff in their blogs and comments. They save some conversation for the private messages, but if parents have their kid’s password, they can access that as well.
- Don’t overreact. These articles have highlighted many of the dangers of MySpace and may scare us. The worse thing a parent can do is at the first hint of danger or impropriety impulsively go in, unplug the computer and tell their kid, “This computer is THE DEVIL!!!” These actions will just confirm in our kids’ minds that we are old, “out of touch,” and we “don’t understand.” The fact is we DO understand, so we shouldn’t overreact and lose all credibility with our kids.
If your teenager keeps their profile private so only friends can view it and if they only add friends who they know, then they will be safe from predators. If you regularly check out your kid’s blog, photos, comments, and friends you will know what’s going on with them and their friends. If your child or their friends do act inappropriately, it may also give you the opportunity to discuss what is appropriate and why from the Biblical perspective. It may not feel like an “opportunity” at the time – it may be awkward and your teen may not agree with what you say - but these are character-shaping moments.
Remember, our goal as parents is to prepare and train up our kids to become independent adults. If your kids are old enough to be on MySpace, they are only a few short years (or less) from being completely on their own. If we don’t gradually help them to understand and deal with the dangers and temptations that await them in the “real world,” we will leave them unprepared and vulnerable to it when they’re on their own.
Christian Alternatives
Ultimately, though each parent has to prayerfully consider whether their teen is mature enough to follow the rules they’ve laid out, behave appropriately, and avoid the temptations. Some parents may decide it’s just not worth the risk. For them there are Christian alternatives to MySpace with tighter restrictions and presumably fewer dangers. Here’s a list of some of them.
To me the issue of whether to allow your teenager to be on MySpace or limit them to Christian alternatives is similar to the issue of choosing a public or a private Christian school. On the one hand you may succeed in limiting their exposure to some worldly influences and give them some additional Christian influences, but you also limit their experience dealing with the world as well as their influence on a world that so desperately needs more Christian youth engaged in it.
Conclusion
If the guidelines explained above are followed, I think most teens can use MySpace safely. However, that’s a decision best left for the parents who know and understand their kid’s judgment and maturity.
For adults, MySpace doesn’t appear any more dangerous than the Internet at large. Sure there are temptations and people who will try to trip you up in sin, but if you want to avoid them you can. MySpace does offer some tremendous ways for individuals and organizations to reach out to and develop relationships with people we otherwise might never meet and we’ll touch on some of those next week.
Do you agree or disagree that MySpace can be safe if you follow the tips in this article? Parents, what if anything are you doing to protect your kids on MySpace? Got any other tips for using MySpace safely? Post your comments below.
I agree with what you have written. I personally use MySpace as an opportunity to reach a lost and dying world in a way I could not otherwise.
I do not have children but we are all sort of responsible for the children in our church right? I read the posts on the teens sites from church, got them all to add me as their friend. This way I can be “another” female adult who is monitoring and can talk with them and it’s different than a parent speaking. Know what I mean?
As a Christian, one has to be very careful while using Myspace. There’s a lot of evil around and even adults are prone to getting trapped by it. So just think about kids who are maturing! They won’t be able to withstand the temptations.
Moreover there are so many false religions propogated, that children will be waylaid easily.
Strict supervision would be required by parents who allow their children to use Myspace.
http://www.myspace.com/johnson3570
Just because your kid’s profile is private doesn’t mean the other kid’s profiles are private. Make sure they know not to blindly meet with anyone their friends have met online.
I agree. MySpace can be very dangerous for kids. I don’t have any children but my little bro is 4. Parents need to teach kids (and this is a long process I realize) how to start recognizing when they need to block a person or go get their parents.
Which is worse: Myspace or AOL?
I agree. Myspace can be dangerous and I don’t suggest it for anyone younger than 21. We have to let our children know that it is not okay to post personal information about themselves on the internet. I use myspace to talk to others about God. My page is myspace.com/khandijones and I got on there because I attend a Christian college and the other kids talked me into making a page. It is addicting. I think a lot of kids use facebook as well and you can only use facebook if you are in college or high school. It only verifies your school email address and it is very safe for kids. Too bad myspace can’t do the same.
I too use MySpace to meet other Christians and to be a witness to other people that view my page… My niece had created a fake e-mail address so that she could join MySpace without my sister even knowing about it… But once my sis found out, she immediately sent in a request to have her account cancelled… My niece had even posted where she went to school… So yes, I know it can be dangerous, and many kids are posting way to much personal info on their sites… Some of them don’t even have a clue that they’re doing something that could bring harm to them…
Well-researched article Paul. I tend to believe that some of the exploitation that happens on myspace gets hyped out of proportion by the media. But nevertheless, I agree it is not a Christian-friendly place and not one that I would let a teenager use without some amount of supervision.
But as Christians, I think its also important that we have a presence there. We can be salt and light in a sea of teenage angst and bad judgement. Secluding and isolating ourselves to a sanctified corner of the internet prevents us from witnessing in the real world. (as Christine mentioned)
We’re actually launching a Myspace for churches - http://www.mychurch.org. But we don’t want to be seen as a “Myspace for Christians” for the reasons I stated. We want to be “MyChurch for everyone”
MYSPACE IS CREATEING A PROBLEMS, SO IT NEED TO BE OFF THE WEBSITE.
I agree with you 100%. The fact of the matter is there are preditors out there. A predator is most likely loooking for a certain thing when he or she searches. If your child’s page happens to have that they are going to look. The people who blame myspace for everything under sun need to look at the parents and what they are allowing them to have on there page. It’s very frustrating be a myspace user and knowing that myspace gives you a template to fill in it does not fill in your personal details you have to do that. The experts who are saying it is bad need to look for themselves and see that myspace is a website for personal expression.
I THINK THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MYSPACE. I AM A 28 YEAR OLD MOM OF FOUR CHILDREN. TWO OF MY CHILDREN ARE ON IT AND THEY SPEAK TO THEIR FRIENDS. MYSPACE IS NO DIFFERENT THAN ANY OTHER WEB SURFING ANY OF US DO. YOU MUST BE CAREFUL WHEN SPEAKING TO ANYONE ON INTERNET NO MATTER WHAT. PARENTS NEED TO MONITOR THEIR CHILDREN AND MUST CONSIDER THEIR CHILDREN’S MENTAL CAPACITY AND TEACH THEM RIGHTS AND WRONG. NO MATTER WHERE YOUR CHILDREN ARE THEY WILL ALWAYS BE IN DANGER OF A PREDITOR. TO BE HONEST, I DO THINK THAT IT SHOULD BE THEIR FOR ATLEAST ADULTS. MANY PEOPLE DO NOT GET OUT MUCH AND THE INTERNET IS THEIR ESCAPE. MAYBE MAKING IT A WEBSITE THAT YOU MUST PAY 5.00 TO JOIN BY DEBIT OR CREDIT WITH YOUR NAME ON IT FOR VERIFICATION PURPOSES BUT TAKING IT AWAY WILL NOT CHANGE MUCH IN THIS SOCIETY. LIKE ANYTHING ELSE ALWAYS PRACTICE CAUTION. I MET MY BOYFRIEND OF 2 AND A HALF YEARS ONLINE ON A SITE JUST LIKE MYSPACE AND WE ARE GREAT. ALSO I HAVE MET MANY MANY QUALITY GOOD FRIENDS. ALL THE NEGATIVITY IS OUT THERE BUT THERE IS ALSO POSITIVES. TRY AND TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
isnt myspace safe if you use it right?
[...] Today we continue our series on the most popular website in the U.S., MySpace. Last week we asked, “Is MySpace safe?” and discussed what parents can do to make it safer for their kids should they allow them to use MySpace. If you’ve read any of the comments readers have posted to the first 3 articles in this series, you know there are strong opinions on both side of the issue of whether Christians ought to use MySpace. [...]
i do not agree that kids that are 14 and younger should not use myspace i mean what do they need it for,they should be worrying about homework and school and if they want to talk to their friends talk on the phone. DO NOT LET YOUR 8 YEAR OR EVEN YOUR 12 YEAR OLD GO ON MYSPACE it’s not for them it is only for kids 14 years and older thats it. i mean these kids are still babies and if you still let them have a myspace check it every once in a while i mean dont be all over protective and everything just say hey can i see the pictures you have on myspace or can i see your friends thats all and maybe even their messages. you think you know your child HA think again read their messages and see what they really do. little kids just care about looking cool and everything else while on the other hand kids 14 and older know to protect themselves from people they dont know they know not to talk to people they dont know. hey ir you let your 12 year old have a myspace your leading them into the rewl rewl world that they are not ready for!!!!!!!!
[...] For the last month Christian Web Trends has been talking about MySpace. What is it? Is it safe? How can it be used for ministry? But we left the best for last. There’s one area use for MySpace that stands out in the crowd. There’s one group of people who can benefit from using MySpace far beyond any other. Can you guess who it is? [...]
Myspace has no affect on me, but from what I hear safety has to be more of a concern. People today dont think that anything bad can happen to them so they don’t think twice about situations they put themselves in. I mean, it depends how you use myspace. If your not going to be giving out information or posting pictures of yourself that people of the public shouldnt be seeing, than thats fine. However, if you choose to make friends that you dont know and give them personal information about yourself, AND meet up with them (stupid idea) than of course your not safe… duh.
As far as I am concerned Myspace should be canceled. Parents, join me on my blog and support getting rid of Myspace. Kids did fine before Myspace and hey will do fine without it. Kids are loosing all social skills not to mention the predators and hackers trying to get into your computer.
mysoace is good who cares a nbit of harmless fun it can also be quiet insightful when parents can see beyond the fact that there kids use th computer alot more but electrical businesses shouldnt be too worried about this. it give people a chance to socialise has it done any harm i think not
I dont think myspace is not safe because al the kids have to do is watch who they talk to and not be everyone friend
The author of the factual information are right and all of us have to be very careful or we are going to get everyone hurt.
there is nothing wrong with myspace…
i know i’m 14 and niave. but come on.
you need to know what you’re doing and what you’re on myspace for. everything will be fine.
don’t post your state, age or school. and you’re cool.
my profile says i’m 100 years old, live in mexico, i’m 2′8″ bodybuilder, i’m aisan, and i’m a black belt.
of course none of that is true, but it gives much less of my information.
you parents are CRAZY!! simmer down.
paz.
there is nothing wrong with myspace…
i know i’m 14 and niave. but come on.
you need to know what you’re doing and what you’re on myspace for. everything will be fine.
don’t post your state, age or school. and you’re cool.
my profile says i’m 100 years old, live in mexico, i’m 2′8″ bodybuilder, i’m aisan, and i’m a black belt.
of course none of that is true, but it gives much less of my information.
you parents are CRAZY!! simmer down.
paz.
myspace.com/ninja_love01
OMG… THIS IS WWWWWAAAAAYYYYYYY NOT TRUE
do you guys have any idea how much money “tom” is making?! too much…
so if you think it should be deleted… no it won’t.
soooo many people sponsor that website. you’re insane if you think it’ll be deleted.
and what is up with mychurch?
will people seriously sign up for that?!
[...] #3) Is MySpace Safe? (24 comments) #2) What is MySpace - the Series? (25 comments) [...]
[...] Write great titles. Write titles that will spark interest and make people want to know more. I probably scan the titles of at least 100 blog articles each day but only read a dozen or so. Which dozen depends entirely on the title. Additionally, include keywords in your title that people will search for. New people read our Is MySpace Safe? article all the time because it’s #5 in Google for Is MySpace Safe, a phrase that is searched about 300 times a month. [...]
I agree with everything you have said in this article, and it was intresting reading how some of you people use Myspace, But i use Myspace for a totaly different reason. I use My space to talk to God, and Jesus. They said hello!
[...] Extremely controversial. I’m not recommending you be intentionally controversial, but the fact is people are drawn to controversy. Our most read blog articles have been controversial ones – Is MySpace Safe? , Can the Virtual Church Replace the Physical Church?, and 12 Ways to Ensure Ensure Easter Attendees Won’t Come Back to Your Church Next Week. [...]
very thorough article. however, i agree and disagree on some points.
bullet #1: I agree that kids under 14 shouldn’t be on MySpace, especially since its owners don’t intend it for them anyway.
bullet #2: I disagree with requiring full access. You should be teaching your kids how to make decisions for themselves, not how to let you make decisions for them. Kids have to make decisions such as who to be friends with, and what information to give out without their parents’ approval anyway when they are with their friends. You couldn’t follow them around at school all day every day and tell them who to be friends with or which kids to talk to or give a picture to. It’s impossible and it’s not healthy for parents (or kids) to try.
I agree with having your child’s profile be “private” and requiring approval of comments. You should also be teaching your child basic safety skills like don’t give your phone number or address to strangers online (including people you met online) and don’t post personal information at all online.
I think that a lot of parents that are getting uptight about MySpace and saying it should be taken down are foolish and reactionary. You can’t protect your kids from everything, it’s impossible and you’re doing them a disservice to try. Do you want your kids to turn 18 and not know how to tie their shoe without mom or dad being in the room?
Granted, there are dangers with socializing online that don’t exist with kids socializing at school. The number one thing that parents can and should be doing to protect their kids is to limit online time!
my mom won’t let me get a myspace because of what she herd. if i put it on myspace on private is it safe? reply as soon as possible!
I TOTALLY AGREE LIKE ALL MY FRIENDS HAVE A MYSPACE BUT I DONT THINK IT’S WORTH THE RISK ALTHOUGH THEY HAVE PRIVATE SETTINGS PREDATORS CAN FIND LOOP HOLES AND THERE’S PLEANTY MORE WAYS YOU CAN TALK TO YOUR FRIENDS IN A SAFE WAY LIKE YAHOO!MESSENGER OR AOL!MESSENGER AND IT’S STILL INSTANT ALTHOUGH YOU CAN’T DECORATE BACKROUNDS JUST REMEMBER TO TELL THE PEOPLE YOU’LL BE SAFE.AND THAT’S WHAT MATTERS THIS IS COMING FROM A KID.
well i think that myspace isnt safe if you post information like last name, phone numbers, city, schools, and stuff like that. its just stupid. your friends all know that so why put it on your myspace of facebook or w/e you have. its dumb! so dont be stupid. just watch what you say and do. you wont be 100% safe..but really now…what is 100% safe anyways??
Hang out in any high school locker room, and if you escape with a heavy fine you should consider yourself very fortunate.
i do think that it is safe becaues it about what you put on there
After reading the article and some of the comments, there seems to be one thing people are overlooking. And that is that predators, con artists, pedophiles or what have you could register an account on a Christian Social Network and do the same as they do on MySpace. And let’s not forget, not just MySpace, but ALL the Social Networks, regardless of what kind they are or which one it is. So the point is, only by monitoring your children do, AND what you do, can you be safe.
Of course, maybe as Rich implies above, maybe it’s really about time we all quit spending so much time on the computer anyway and actually get out of the house and meet someone face to face and socialize that way (not that MySpace or any other social network be made to be taken off the internet. He’s wrong on that one. The thing is, like a radio station or TV channel, if you don’t like what’s on, change the station or channel.)
[...] Read the full article here, and then, consider joining VirChU, the virtual community hosted by FirstNetChurch.com addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Ffirstnetchurch.com%2FWPsite%2F%3Fp%3D130′; addthis_title = ‘OurChurch.com+Asks%3A+%26%238220%3BIs+MySpace+Safe%3F%26%238221%3B’; addthis_pub = ”; [...]
Well i really agree with Ashley. . . .i mean, these days there are predators just walking down the street waiting for the kill. I think it is up to you and your parents- listen to them, they’re not dumb! But if you are really carefull, I don’t think it is likely somthing can happen. There are plenty of people out there who do post information about themselves, and I think generally they are the people targeted. The problem is, because it happens on myspace the media thinks it happens to anyone who gets a myspace so when they publish these stories people think it happens to everyone. This is not so. I am just a teenager so my opinions are probably really stupid and worthless, but I think that those teens and even adults who keep themselves private and keep inside information out should be okay, as long as there are those people who don’t, the easy ones for the predators to pick off.
I think if you have your Myspace on private you should be safe. I mean you don’t NEED pictures of YOU on your Myspace, you can have a dog, a cat, or even a pillow as your picture, and if you don’t want your pictures on there, don’t out them on there! I mean do you really WANT them on there?? You don’t NEED to put personal information on there if you don’t want to either, I mean it is YOUR choice if you want to put that stuff on there and get yourself in trouble, but if it were me, I would put I am 200 years old and that is it. Maybe I would put a picture of my dog or my pillow for my picture, but not me. And I will pick who MY friends are. I am always going to keep it on private. But, that is my choice, you people pick what you want, but that is what I would do.
myspace is fine as long as your safe.Some under 14 kids have one because they are responsible and/or they skipped a grade and want to fit in with the other kids that are already 14
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i dis agree because my mom wont let me have a my space justso i can talk to mt friends out side of school. and this stuff about it isnt safe ruins my chances of ever doing that
[...] » Is MySpace Safe? [...]
i think myspace is GREAT! so bak off
It’s a rather disturbing issue, and I think all of these sites need to be working on a solution across many geographic and jurisdictional boundaries. It would be interesting if this kind of ‘problem’ became an enabler and driver for better global co-operation / information sharing. Nothing can ever be made 100% safe though, hence the ever present need for education and parental vigilance.
Hi i dont have a myspace because my mom wont let me. but i am doing a project on if myspace is safe ro not and i think it is safe it just depends on who uses it and if they abuse it and talk to people they dont know or they put personal information up about them that they dont want anyone else to know. they should keep it private and not accpet anyone they dont know. i think all you people need to communicate with your children and surpervise them if you really think you need to.
Just because you have heard all those stories of young girls being raped, murdered and kidnapped doesn’t mean this is definitely going to happen to your child.
There are 5 main steps to make your Myspace safer-
1. As soon you get a Myspace make sure to put your profile on private - this makes sure no one that you have not accepted as a friend will be able to see any part of your Myspace apart from your display picture.
2. Photos are a big part of Myspace - you can share them, view them from other peoples profiles, and put them on your homepage. If you do put up photos on your profile make sure that 1) There are no street signs or landmarks in the background, 2) You have a little amount of photos - the clue is easy - More photos. More people knowing what you look like and where to find you.
3. Don’t put too much personal information! - This is an absolute MUST - If you put up your full name, address, where you like to hang out on weekends and what school you go to — well, I guess your just asking for trouble. Myspace is kind of like an online life and you might just think ‘well, thats never going to happen to me’ - don’t think that, yes it might be true, there is a minority - but always be aware.
4. Do not accept people who you don’t know - yes I do know how cool it is to have 500, 1000, 1500 friends compared to say 20, 30, 50 - but make sure you know who they are! Don’t accept people who you don’t know - and its obvious why.
5. Myspace chat - The Myspace chat is a new part of Myspace that lets you privately chat to certain people who are online - alot like a smaller version of MSN, make sure to not send your phone number or where you live. If you want to plan something or the other call by telephone - don’t plan over the internet - people can hack and see your entire convo, so if you say ‘Okay ill see you tomorrow at the chicken shop near the barber on Church street at 12:00pm’ it might sound innocent at the time - but always remember people can see exactly what your saying.
I hope you do take in the things I have written for your/your childs Myspace - The internet can be a dangerous place.
idk if mysace is really really bad or not cuz i dont have one. but i would want to have one.
let me tell u a story about what happened to this gurl in texas.
there was a gurl named keysha. she was 10 years old. her mom didnt care if she had a mysace so keysha made one. later she made her account by faking her age into 25. but then she was talkin to this 27 yr old guy. then all of a sudden, the guy asked her if she can give him her address and phone number, she didnt know what to do. but then she gave her friends address and phone address. then they found out that the guy went to keysha’s friend’s house. so he asked if keysha was there, she said no and keysha’s friend told the guy her real address and phone number. so the guy went to that address. keysha’s was still on the computer, then the door knocked, her mom didnt listen cuz she was on the phone, so her mom yelled to keysha to open the door, her mom said that her friend was comin over, but it was the guy. and the guy said “is keysha here?” then she said “its me why?” then the guy got furious that it was a little gurl. and suddenly killed the gurl. but i dont want to be that kind of gurl i mean i know that my old classmates go to that website and i want to talk to them but i dont want to talk to strangers.
I can’t say that myspace is 100% safe because I don’t have one. But in the world we live in today, is there anything at all that is 100% safe? Honestly, I don’t think there is. I don’t have a myspace because my parents don’t want me to have one for safety reasons. I’ve tried to argue the fact that if your smart about the things you put on your profile, then you should be ok. I think myspace has a bad reputation because all you hear about is young girls getting murdered or raped or whatever, and those are the stories my mom tells me every time I bring myspace up. In my opinion, myspace isn’t any more dangerous then going to the mall with a bunch of your friends because you don’t know every single person that goes to the mall, so you don’t talk to the people you don’t know. Same thing with myspace, you don’t know every single person with a mypsace acount, so you only accept friend requests from the people you do know. It’s as simple as that. I don’t think it’s appropriate for kids to have a myspace if they are under the age of 13, but if a teenager wants a myspace and they’re willing to let their parents moniter it, then I don’t see the problem with it. But then again, this is coming from a 13 year old who wants a myspace so maybe there is a problem I’m overlooking.
My Space or Face Book or Twitter, any social website or network will have some these type of abuses. Ebay and Craiglist also suffer the same problems, we must be vigilant and always watchful of our surrounding as we walk in the “world”.
God Bless You!