Heather Vale, US

Thirteen is an age many children can’t wait to turn. The Barbies are tossed and the Hot Wheels are packed in a box. For most teenagers’ today, surfing the internet is the new obsession. With over fifty-million members, Myspace is one of the fastest growing Web sites in the US. Its increasing popularity has had both postive and negative effects on teenagers. 

Though every teenager might not have Myspace, most teenagers have had at least heard about the ever-growing website. The website allows teenagers to share photos, create blogs and communicate through a “Comment System”. Though this website may seem interesting, appealing and fun, it can lead to serious issues.

“It’s free, easy to join and easy to send a message to a member,” explained Ann Morin Youssef, a high school student. However, posting too much information on this social networking site may be dangerous. Members of Myspace have the ability to post as much information as they would like.

“Anyone can lie about their age, where they live, or even what they look like,” another high school teenager, Kaitlin Moriarty, stated. “I have a friend that dated a kid she met on Myspace and it took her two months to realize he was a girl,” Kaitlin continued. In other words, a girl who can seem innocent and angelic can play an entirely different role on Myspace. Even worse, a grown man can act like a male teenager looking for female teenagers to talk to.

“It’s dangerous only if you add people [to your friend’s list] you don’t know,” Michela Infantino, a member of Myspace, argued. “But if someone gets hurt it’s not Myspace’s fault; they added them and should have had the brains not to add them if they didn’t know them,” Infantino continued explaining.

On several Myspace sites provocative images are displayed along with personal information. Teenagers are not aware of the people looking at their site and therefore give out not only their full names or addresses but also their cell numbers and after -school schedules. Teenagers need to become aware of the dangers lurking at their site, therefore decreasing the amount of sexual predator cases taking place.  

Sexual-abuse accusations involving MySpace are increasing by the day. On the local news channels, stories are being told about five men in their 20s posing as teenagers. These five men reportedly contacted female MySpace users as young as eleven and eventually sexually assaulted them. Several high schools are beginning to block their students’ access to Myspace from school computers.

Parents should also be aware and cautious about what their children are experiencing on Myspace. Though some websites have completely innocent pictures, quite a few of them contain inappropriate pictures for young teenagers to witness. Parents must be alert on how a teenager electronically flirts, shares photos, makes friends, and plans events with others.

“My mom is always telling me to be careful. So if I have a picture of someone on my screen (like their Myspace) then she'll occasionally ask me who that is,” Ashley Winn, another local Myspace member explained. Though Myspace can tempt predators, thousands of teens are still hooked on their own not-so-personal space.