An important article for our younger posters re: MySpace

[Craig]

Posted: 5/15/06 at 8:58am

Nothing new, but serves as a good reminder. It's a PDF version, so you'll need to scroll down to page 4.

Link is below
AM-NY Article

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 5/15/06 at 9:11am

You have to be really careful out there. I see a lot of younger kids posting revealing pictures of themselves, and it's dangerous because, especially with girls, guys will target younger children and try to lure them. I've gotten quite a few requests from guys to "keep in touch." It's creepy.

[ckeaton]

Posted: 5/15/06 at 9:55am

Yeah, but the same crap goes on here. It's not just MySpace where you have to be careful, ya know?

[mint0621]

Posted: 5/15/06 at 10:04am

thanks for the reminder! It's always good to be aware.

[caitiesus1522]

Posted: 5/15/06 at 10:30am

I am one of those people that thinks the media is making too big of a deal about the MySpace and facebook stories. On our ABC affliate for the past week they have been running a commercial that pretty much says this "Popular teen websites MySpace an facebook are littered with sexual predators but there is a new site that keeps the perverts out. Tune in Monday at 11"

Things like this, along with countless articles have made parents paranoid.

If you have any common sense you will be fine. Don't respond to messages from people you don't know, especially if they say things like "ur hot".

I am getting so sick of this thought that EVERYONE out there is just a sexual predator pretending to be a teenager. Most people aren't.

Rant over

[peggyandvelma]

Posted: 5/15/06 at 10:41am

I got a message the other day on MySpace from a guy I didn't know. He was going on and on about how I was beautiful and how he wanted to be friends. Um, I don't even have a picture on MySpace. How should he know if I'm beautiful or not? Just delete crazy messages and be careful of what you say. I don't give away specific info about where I live or work and I think that if you just really pay attention to what you say, you'll be okay.
Thanks for bringing this up, Craig. I think it is important.

[Patronus]

Posted: 5/15/06 at 10:46am

If you have any common sense you will be fine.

It would be nice if it were that simple.

There are people that have plenty of common sense who can unwillingly fall victim to predators on the internet. A lot of kids are lonely and feel "safe" to talk to people because they are talking to someone who says they are across the country. It starts out all in good fun. These people build information and the successful predators can take months and even years to build enough information about someone.

It could be loneliness, it could be a bad day at school, it could be breaking up with their boyfriend or girlfriend in Jr. High. In general, common sense doesn't always apply when it comes to to the emotions and decisions of a lot of pre-teens and teens. For every well rounded, level headed kid out there, I fear there are a handful of kids that aren't so fortunate. Common sense is a skill that is honed over time after experience.

Awareness. These PSAs and news stories aren't directed at the people who know how to avoid giving out too much information. They are mostly directed at the parents of children letting them know about the risks of MySpace.

While it isn't the news outlet's responsibility to help parents raise their children, I do believe this is helpful information to continue pounding home.

Of course everyone on MySpace isn't a sexual predator, but if these constant news stories protect just one kid from being the victim of any type of abuse whether it be physical or emotional then I think they serve a very valid purpose.

Updated On: 5/15/06 at 10:46 AM

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 5/15/06 at 10:50am

You just have to be careful. Just delete messages from people you don't know and don't add everyone who asks as your friend. I have deleted or denied many people from my friends list because I have no idea who they are or why they are interested in what I have to say. This sort of thing can happen on any web site that has chat, message board, PM, or blog features. You just have to be smart and not give out personal information or agree to meet people until you are totatly sure of their identity.

However, the same thing can happen by meeting people the old fashioned way as well. Of course, you could tell their actual age right away...but a large percentage of rape, kidnapping, and murders are done by people the victim already knows well. The internet just serves as another option.

[Craig]

Posted: 5/15/06 at 11:32am

There are thousands if not millions of parents who have no idea what their children do online,let alone what individual websites are called or what they do.

It's never bad to remind people with these stories because if it even saves ONE child from being victimized, the "sensationalism" or repetitive stories in the news, etc was well worth it.

My .02

Posted: 5/15/06 at 1:00pm

Providing a public service and getting good raitings...who knew.