OK so I have sat here and read all these blogs talking about myspace and how its a bad site and others belive its a good site. Here is my point of view.....
Yes there have been a lot of reports on how myspace is bad for teens and that is should be banned and blah blah blah...Honestly I don't think parents should blame a website on a lot that has happened to these teens b/c myspace does everything it can to make it as safe a possible. If you under a certain age you profile is automatically put to private. But a teen can sit there and put that she is 25 years old if she wants. Myspace is not a mind reader and won't sit there and check to see if teens are lying about their age. It's not myspace's fault that teens sit there and put up dirty pictures of themselves and talk to people who they dont know then go and meet them. Once the see the guy aint who he said he was and blah blah blah. I mean if people want to blam myspace then blam AOL YAHOO MSN ICQ & any other web site or server that has contact to the outside world. I am a mother myself and when my child starts going on websites I will be there to see what is going on and who shes talking to and I willknow that she has enough sence not to do stupid things that will get her into trouble. This is all I have to say.
finally, someone with a brain!
i'm only 20, but until i was old enough to really know what i was doing my parents monitored the heck out of my internet usage and TV watching, even the music i listened to. people need to stop blaming the web and TV and whatever else for everything and take some personal responsibility in the matter and actually raise their kids right. =)
--stacie
This is a good blog, the one I wrote was how myspace wasn't all that amazing, it is quite possibly the parents fault for letting their kids have unmonitored and unlimited internet usage without ever checking them out on what they look at.
Caity =)
thank you. im 22 my daughter is 5 and I will make sure I know what she is doing and what kind of pictures are on the computer and on her pages. She will hate me for it but at least I know she will be safe.
i don't think she'll hate you as long as with your protection of her you still leave her some privacy. for instance, monitoring the sites she's visiting and what communities she's a part of is one thing, but if she starts an online journal when she's older, i would consider reading her entries a violation of her privacy, especially if she asks you not to read it (my parents know i have a few online journals, but we have a standing agreement that anything written in there can't be used by them against me because i asked them not to read it, so if they bring something up i'll know they didn't respect my request...on the other hand, i'm 20, so i know better than to get into trouble on the internet anyway). and definitely don't read any logged IM conversations, unless you're concerned that she might be depressed or thinking of hurting herself... although since she's only 5 i doubt you'll have to worry about that for a long while.
kids need restrictions, but they need to feel like you trust them too, and that means giving them some privacy. =P
--stacie
You're right it is up to the user to make their own decisions. I'm 17 and i put my account on private and require anyone who wants to see my profile to either know my last name or my e mail adress. nearly no one who i don't want to add is able to add me because they have to send me a message saying that they want me to add them.
I don't think that myspace is bad because it lets people keep in touch, but i think that if it never even existed, it wouldn't make a difference. teens would still talk on im and send pics to each other.
i think that its best for myspace to stay since its a better alternative to going into chat rooms and talking to complete strangers.
It's so refreshing to read common-sense. And it reminds me of how sick I am of other people expecting strangers to take care of their OWN kids!
people just want everything done for them, someone else to take their responsibiliites and their burdens. Kids are the parents responsibility and it is very easy for parents to block a site totally or just be with your kids like you said.
i agree and nicely written to inform people about something they might have ignored and have come to hate the site
Above All - Do no harm
EXACTLY! In most cases parents don't know what's going on with their child until something happens to them then they try to put the blame on everyone but themselves for not watching over their child.
Myspace isn't bad as long as you don't post too much info. about yourself(such as address or phone number) or abuse your usage privileges by posting bad pictures or using profanity on your profile. Being honest about your age is important, too. People that you allow to be on your friend list and see your profile should be only people you know mutually in the real world. If you're too young to have a myspace or any online profile, don't get one. This way people will be safer online and won't have to worry much about someone on their friend list turning out to be some pedophile who is stalking them.
thank you all for ur comments. sorry i havent been on here since then to busy with my lil one and work lol but i will post as much as possible.
You have great points here. You cannot blame a website for the stupid things that people do. It is just a medium for people to act slutty / needy / and just plain right stupid.
Finally! Someone who uses common sense! I really am sick of all of the bad press Myspace is getting. Myspace is being blamed for kids saying they are older then they are, and posing in inappropriate, provocative ways. I want to know where the parents are, and why these kids lack common sense.
Why can't people be as smart as you?
I'm a myspacer, and so are most my friends, and we all have enough sense to know that there are bad people in the world. It's not myspaces fault that some parents dont teach their kids not to meet strangers or to have a little self-respect when their posting slutty pictures. Come on! Thats the own myspace users fault. If you tempt them they will come, if you keep your clothes on and have some common sense, you'll be safe. Myspace is just the same (or even safer than) yahoo, aol, msn, facebook, and other sites