i was one of the first people in my city to hear about myspace. a friend of mine from new jersey (where i used to live) asked me to join so it would be easier for us to keep in touch. i did and i instantly became addicted. i used to know how to do all that advanced stuff that no one else knew how to do yet. gradually everyone got into myspace. then the news reports came out about sexual predators on myspace, and my mother made me delete mine because she said that there was too much info about me on the site and one of the predators could gain access to it easily. i tried to tell her about the privacy settings on the site, but she wasnt hearin it. so she made me delete my page. i was so sad. i think that my mother's concerns are completely unnecessary. only idiots get raped through the internet. i apologize if i have offended anyone with that last statement, but lets be for real. there is no way for these people to find u unless u tell them. if u are dumb enough to go meet some person that u hardly know, thats ur business, but u cant really be mad if something happens to u because in a way u asked for it. im not saying that anyone deserves to be raped, im just saying that people wouldnt get raped by online predators if they were more careful.
so one of my friends just asked me to go look at his page earlier tonite, and when i went back on, i found that everyone and their mother has a myspace now. that makes me so mad because there werent nearly as many people, at least people that i knew, on there when i had it. everyone decided to get a myspace after my mother made me delete mine. i found myself going thru all the different profiles for hours, without even realizing how much time was passing. i am a recovering myspace junkie who just relapsed. i can admit that. i used to spend hours on that site, and i did again tonite. i know that i will probably make another one once i leave for college. i just hope i wont be so addicted. myspace is a drug.
i miss my myspace...
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"only idiots get raped through the internet" is such an untrue statement. Goddess only knows how many stories I have heard in which someone gave out relatively little information and was tracked down. Even the most seemingly innocent of comments can lead to someone finding out who you are. It has nothing to do with being an idiot and more to do with a lack of education because parents can't be bothered to get off of their asses and monitor what their children are doing and saying online.
"We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us." -Marcel Proust
I have NEVER heard of a story where someone was "tracked down" because of the info they put out there-other than things that were done for tv purposes.
It is always someone that GAVE OUT their info...
but as u said, u only heard these stories. is hearsay really a reliable source? additionally, i dont think its fair for u to blame parents because if a teenager wants to chat online he or she will find a way to do it whether their parents allow it or not. it seems to me that u r suggesting that parents should be all up in their child's butt to "protect" them. parents cant monitor everything their kids do, especially when those kids arent exactly kids anymore.
Those who need to spend 3 hours a day on Myspace should take a short sabbatical. Talk to the people live, and find out what they're doing without Myspace. The personal contact will be good for all the people, and help friendships grow.
Just throwing that out there before you get TOO into it.
- UZ, The Master of Everything
i agree with u, but its easy to lose track of time when u dont have anything else to do.
maybe is it for the better that you don't have a myspace? Think of all the other things you could be doing with your time, like applying for scholarships, or studying, do something to help other people, meet people around you. There is a whole world around you, enjoy it!
Bre
as i commented earlier, i would lose track of time on myspace when i didnt have anything to do. if i had needed to study or if i had needed to apply for scholarships and college, i wouldnt have been on myspace. i didnt go on everyday, only when i was bored, and when i did go on, i was on forever. its not like i never did things to help other people or never met people around me. i did a lot of different things, but myspace was my time filler, i guess.
I actually met my current boyfriend on myspace. We've been together for almost two years and don't plan on breaking up anytime soon. So first of all, a parent's paranoia is totally necessary if you are underage. The fact of the matter is, if you have your last name and the city you live in or give out your phone number people can do reverse look ups. Reverse look ups are actually extremely easy for anyone to do, but there's more detailed information that people who know where to look can get. As long as you are careful and don't give out too much information like location, last names, etc. you're okay. Furthermore, people who get raped or abducted aren't exactly stupid, they are just usually too trusting. When I met my current boyfriend I was a little scared and nervous. So what I did was since I had my own car I had him meet me at a local bookstore at around 2pm (plenty of daylight) and on saturday (plenty of people around). When we met up, we stayed at the bookstore, walked around and talked so that i could see how he acted and see if i trusted him enough to go somewhere else but everywhere we went i took my own car and we only went to public places like the movies. Basically, if you're gonna meet someone you need to be careful and not trust them until they give you a reason to trust them. Secondly, I cannot stand myspace anymore. I still have a profile but i dont keep it up. I only leave it up incase someone needs to contact me and has no other way of doing so (i also set it up to where i get an e-mail if someone sends a message to me or whatnot so i only go if i have something). Myspace is too much like highschool, most people are more concerned with how many people they know and who they know as opposed to making deep and lasting connections with someone. Myspace has turned the term "friend" into something so meaningless. A "friend" is just a name and a picture on a list. If you want to blog and meet people, get a blog at blogger or join a forum. You get more of a community out of that as opposed to myspace.
I also met my boyfriend on myspace. -When we first met it was him and his parents, they came up to where I live (they live 3 hours away-I am 17, he is 19), I made sure they seemed okay before I got in the car with them, we went uptown and once my dad was off work he came up to where we were and met him. I had our 3rd cell phone on me (I didn't have my own at the time), and everything was entirely safe. It was in MY town, so I knew where I could run to if I needed to-not that I needed to. I am moving in with him in 2 weeks now :D
well i never put up too much info, although i did have my school name and the city where i live. i suppose that is too much information. i dont really know. i dont think i would actually go on myspace looking for a lasting relationship because i would be too scared, but i think its good that u took a chance and it worked out for u. i dont mind the whole myspace thing, but that is probably because i am still in high school. i dont like the whole idea of "myspace whores"; u kno, those people that try to add everyone as a friend just to have as many friends as possible. i do think that myspace is a good way to meet new people. i just dont think that i would actually allow myself to fully trust any of them.
I wasn't there looking for a boyfriend. I had actually been a member of myspace for almost a year when he added me and we started talking. It was only meant as a friendship.
The myspace whore thing bugs me too..I think that is stupid.
I had a bit of a different story when it comes to my school though-I was homeschooled through a program in PA, living in Michigan-it would have made it kinda hard to track me by my schools name :p