Jan 07 2009
MySpace, not my child!
Personal networking sites like MySpace are very popular among young people. The site has set an age limit of fourteen to become a member. There is little they can do to police it and, let’s face it, people lie!
Now, I’m sure you are probably thinking, at least my child isn’t involved. Think again! I have listened to students as young as eleven discuss their MySpace accounts. I have even had students that did not have computers in their homes discuss their pages! (Friends check it for them.) I have been begged to let them check the site at school-something I do not allow. I think these sites represent a big danger for our young people today.
First, they are too trusting. In a small Ohio town of 20,000, they found seven registered sex offenders with MySpace accounts. In this same town, students had posted pictures of themselves in bikinis and, though they don’t give their address, they did give their small hometown. One girl’s family was the only one in town with her surname. I do not even like to think about the possibilities!
Second, they have a sense of being anonymous. They are more free to take risks when they do not see the face to face reaction.
Third, they are too trusting. One student I had had given her password out to only a couple people. Only problem was, once we tried to figure out who had sent out vicious emails from her account, the number grew and grew and grew. We need only remember Megan Meier and her death from a MySpace encounter to realize how trusting our children are and how easily they can be fooled. It can be a deadly experience.
Fourth, some of the at risk behaviors include posting pictures of themselves that get spread around. These pictures can come back to haunt them some day, and once they are gone, they are gone!
Don’t think I am against MySpace. I have an account. What I am against is the inability of today’s moms and dads to accept their children will join networking sites and these things can be their realities. Everyone likes to think their child is the more mature, more responsible child. Parents, put those computers out where you can see them and walk by-regularly. It isn’t worth the risk that you might be wrong!
