Should kids/teens use social networking sites?

[greatcook]

I've seen a number of articles and news stories about the dangers of social networking sites lately (MySpace, Facebook, Xanga, etc.)...they seem to attract online sexual predators looking for teens and kids to target. Have others seen a lot out there about this topic? What do you think can be done to make the internet safer for kids and teens to use?

One site I've come across is Cybertipline (http://www.cybertipline.com) which is run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It's a good way to report anything you might see (online or off) so that the information gets to law enforcement.

[krhm]

I am not a big fan of these sites. For one thing, I teach in classrooms with computers, and the kids can not stay off those sites! If there is a 2 minute lull in class time, they're checking out the latest posts. They seem to be addictive. I have heard students talk about problems that happen on the sites; we all know about high school rumors and gossip, and these sites only seem to increase that. One girl just told me yesterday that her boyfriend broke up with her because of some things people had written about her on Facebook.

As for the sexual predator aspect, I don't know, but it surely seems like a real danger.

[Gumbeaux]

Kids are going to search the net and peruse blogs. I would tell them never to post personal info such as their address, phone number, what school they attend, and what city they live in. They should NEVER try to meet someone in person that they met on the internet.

They should also refrain from "trashy" language and the posting of provocative pictures.

[Dfen911]

The best course of action? Talk to your kids. Monitor your kids, ask them questions, have them show you....just be involved. So many just let their kids log on and never ask.

They're going to log on to these sites whether you say yes or no. They'll do it from their friends or school. Best for you to be informed. I have a MySpace. I watch what my daughter posts, who her 'friends' are etc. I don't really restrict what she posts and have explained that I support her rights to express herself. However, she knows that there are limits to 'expression'. She is only 16 afterall. I expect her to act online the way she is expected to act in public.

You can limit sites they go to, but in all honesty, it makes them work that much harder to get at them. When she's in her room on her pc I keep a log of every website she's ever gone to. (Google Desktop is great for this. It also keeps a log of their online chats with AIM, MSN etc)

Sit down with your kids and talk to them about their limits. Explain what you expect of each them with regards to internet usage and sites visited and list out consequences.

Be honest in that you will monitor what is on the pc based on websites visited. Also learn the Lingo they use. "POS" = Parent over my shoulder these types of things. It will you help you discern what they are talking about.

Here's a list -
2NITE – Tonight
A/S/L or ASL – Age/Sex/Location
ADR – Address
AEAP – As Early As Possible
ALAP – As Late As Possible
BRT – Be Right There
CWYL – Chat With You Later
CYT or SYT – See You Tomorrow
EOD – End Of Day
F2F – Face To Face
FOAF – Friend Of A Friend
HAK – Hugs And Kisses
I 1-D-R – I Wonder
ILU or ILY – I Love You
KFY – Kiss For Your
KOTL – Kiss On The Lips
L8R – Later
LD – Long Distance
LMK – Let Me Know
MOOS – Member(s) Of the Opposite Sex
MorF – Male or Female
MOSS or MOTSS – Member(s) Of The Same Sex
MOTAS – Member(s) Of The Appropriate Sex
MWBRL – More Will Be Revealed Later
NALOPKT – Not A Lot Of People Know That
NAZ – Name, Address, Zip
N-A-Y-L – In A While
NCG – New College Graduate
NVM - Nevermind
OLL – Online Love
OTP – On The Phone
POS – Parent Over Shoulder
QT – Cutie
RN – Right Now
RSN – Real Soon Now
RU – Are You … (For instance, RUMORF means “Are You Male or Female” and RUUP4IT means “Are You Up For It”)
SMIM – Send Me and Instant Message
SMEM – Send Me an E-Mail
SO – Significant Other
SorG – Straight or Gay
STYS – Speak To You Soon
TDTM – Talk Dirty To Me
TIAIL – Think I Am In Love
TOM – Tomorrow
TPTB – The Powers That Be
U-R – You Are …
WFM – Works For Me
WTB – Want To Buy
WUF – Where Are You From?
WYCM – Will You Call Me?
WTRN – What’s Your Real Name?

[luvItalian]

I am very anti MySpace. First it is only for people I believe over 18 although it may be 16. The kids in the Middle School are big users because there are no age checks. Although I would argue that are what parents are for. Non the less, numerous girls have gotten in trouble in our MS because the pictures they used and the explicit language, yes 13 year olds. Then the horrible did happen a 13 year old in the town next to us had every parents worst nightmare come true. It is blocked on our home computer but I am aware that my DD can go to a friends house to use. I just keep talking to her and praying.

Just a side note. Did you know the public libraries can not filter their computers. Therefore kids can have access to any web site they want right in the local library. I urge every parent to ask their public library what steps they take to make certain kids are not looking at inappropriate things. Also if your kid and their friends suddenly develop a lot of reports that require them to go to the library often, you may want to hang around and see exactly what they are researching.

[DmOrtega]

...
Just a side note. Did you know the public libraries can not filter their computers. Therefore kids can have access to any web site they want right in the local library. I urge every parent to ask their public library what steps they take to make certain kids are not looking at inappropriate things. Also if your kid and their friends suddenly develop a lot of reports that require them to go to the library often, you may want to hang around and see exactly what they are researching.

This irritates me to no end. I've personally seen adult men looking at pornography at the library. How in the #@!! are the libraries going to keep kids safe, if they allow men access to porn sites????

[tbb113]

This irritates me to no end. I've personally seen adult men looking at pornography at the library. How in the #@!! are the libraries going to keep kids safe, if they allow men access to porn sites????

It's not the library job to keep your children safe...it is your job. Why would your child be staring over the back of some stranger checking out porn? Why aren't you either supervising them if they are little or taught them manners if they are older?

Regarding MySpace, etc. Once again, it is YOUR job to keep your kids safe. You need to talk with them about what they can post and check up on them if you feel the need. Maybe I'm more naive since I have boys...but they post appropriately and in general so do their female friends

[honeygirl1971]

I think what Dfen911 said makes a lot of sense. If you allow your kids to post, but talk to them about it and monitor their site, you are going to have a lot more knowledge about what is going on than if you forbid it outright. There are sooo many ways to get access to these things if you really want to, and teenage kids really want to, especially when all their friends are doing it!

[DmOrtega]

It's not the library job to keep your children safe...it is your job. Why would your child be staring over the back of some stranger checking out porn? Why aren't you either supervising them if they are little or taught them manners if they are older?

Regarding MySpace, etc. Once again, it is YOUR job to keep your kids safe. You need to talk with them about what they can post and check up on them if you feel the need. Maybe I'm more naive since I have boys...but they post appropriately and in general so do their female friends


I agree with most of this. I do everything within my power to keep my family safe. My issue is with the publicly funded library system. I don't look over peoples shoulders and I still am able to see what is going on. Putting blinders on when I walk by will not change the fact that this is going on, in public.

[luvItalian]

TB113 and DMOrtega, I agree with you both. TB113 if your sons are under 16 then they should not even be on myspace. This means they must have lied to get access. Also you may know what they are posting but you do not know whose sites they are viewing. I agree with the comment that is the parents job to keep the kids safe, but it is naive to think that these professional scumbags can not even out smart the best of parents. As far as the libraries go, I believe it is a constitutional issue not an individual library issue. Our library has patrols on the computers and all screens, even adults, face the desks. Not 100% helpful, but better then nothing. I am not looking for arguments I just wanted to make people aware that libraries (at least in my town) are known by the kids to be sensor free.

[hlao23]

My friend's 14 year old daughter is on my space. Most of her profile is hidden from everyone except her "friends" a list of people to whom she gives permission to see her site - she does have the option of lying about her age, I guess. That said....she just found out that one of the people on her friends list is a sexual predator. The police came to talk to her at school. The guy (who is in his 40s) owns a local store, so it's also someone she knew.

I would say it's fine to use but to use discretion on who you include as "friends". I think people also run into problems when you make plans via "messages" which are open to anyone (if you say you're over 16). If a friend wrote my a message that talked about our plans to go to this place and this time on this day....anyone could read it and show up.

[Chefzhat]

I've personally seen adult men looking at pornography at the library. How in the #@!! are the libraries going to keep kids safe, if they allow men access to porn sites????

This isn't about kids looking over shoulders, this is about why in God's green earth are people allowed to access porn at a Library. A family place. I'd argue that the problem isn't kids looking over shoulders. But that's just me.

[Robyn1007]

I would say it's fine to use but to use discretion on who you include as "friends". I think people also run into problems when you make plans via "messages" which are open to anyone (if you say you're over 16). If a friend wrote my a message that talked about our plans to go to this place and this time on this day....anyone could read it and show up.

Actually, there are different types of messages you can send someone. You are speaking of someone leaving comments, and yes, if plans are made that way, everyone can use them. On the other hand, you can send messages that are private, like an email that others can't view.

As far as kids using the service, I have mixed feelings. I understand that its difficult to monitor whose profiles they are looking at etc but I think a lot of the responsibility comes down to parent responsibility.

In regards to the library issue, I can see where the problem comes in for the governments if they start to censor anything. So we think that porn is offensive and should be censored but then take a step further and say I think a religion is offensive, is okay to censor that? Or any other type of site that might be offensive to some but not others. It becomes a slippery slope and its a tough judgement for the governments to make and I certainly wouldn't want to be the one making the decision.

[luvItalian]

Hlao23, why does your daughter use myspace if it is kept private. Can't she accomplish the same thing with IM or even the telephone? I am glad to hear that your daughters friend is ok. I am sure she is a responsible and smart girl. Unfortunately this guy is smarter. I tell my kids, the problem with these sites is not with you. It would be great if you could communicate with kids all over the country. There is a problem with some adults which make this unsafe. It stinks but that is the world we live in. When I was a kid I had a pen pal from Argentina through Big Blue World show (I think that was the name). It was great, we wrote for 5 years. Shame my kids can't seem to have the same experience.

[blazedog]

Without even delving into the slippery slope of what pornography is since the Supreme Court has failed to come up with one that is clear. Certain types of porno are clearly illegal because they involve exploitation of children -- which is an ACT rather than a mere depiction but offensive as it is to me on a personal level, it is not illegal to view a naked 18 year old dressed as a school girl -- hmm sounds like Britney Spears. :D

The problem with porn and libraries is that there aren't effective filters which would block "porn" (whatever that is) and nothing else. The filters are very crude and block legitimate sites that most people would agree is not porn -- i.e. paintings in museums or sites exploring breast cancer -- to point out two obvious examples.

As to teenagers -- my personal experience is that kids are pretty savvy if you give them the appropriate information. The kids I know had no limits on their use of the internet and laughed about the scams they were exposed to. They would no more have thought about meeting someone or giving out personal information to a stranger than jumping off the Empire State Building.

[Laura]

Hlao23, why does your daughter use myspace if it is kept private. Can't she accomplish the same thing with IM or even the telephone? I am glad to hear that your daughters friend is ok. I am sure she is a responsible and smart girl. Unfortunately this guy is smarter. I tell my kids, the problem with these sites is not with you. It would be great if you could communicate with kids all over the country. There is a problem with some adults which make this unsafe. It stinks but that is the world we live in. When I was a kid I had a pen pal from Argentina through Big Blue World show (I think that was the name). It was great, we wrote for 5 years. Shame my kids can't seem to have the same experience.

The thing with myspace is you can post pictures, music, videos, so the same things can't be done with IM or the phone. Plus, it is the "cool" thing to have right now. By having a private myspace, only those people you invite to be your friends can see your profile or post on your page.

[rosie_one]

I actually have a facebook profile. It is basically a billboard to hopefully reach my college students about some of the programs we offer. It is completely harmless if used well. The education that needs to happen, at least from my perspective, is that ANYONE with an .edu address can see what you post. Anyone... professors, staff, potential employers, prospective students. Some students post very inappropriate things (underage drinking etc...) that could get them in trouble. I think they feel the space is "safe" for them to post what they want and, you know, it isn't. People in authority look at those pages. Anyone can take those photos in their photo albums and use/edit them however they want.

Kids and parents should understand those risks before they go there.

[Chefzhat]

Without even delving into the slippery slope of what pornography is since the Supreme Court has failed to come up with one that is clear. Certain types of porno are clearly illegal because they involve exploitation of children -- which is an ACT rather than a mere depiction but offensive as it is to me on a personal level, it is not illegal to view a naked 18 year old dressed as a school girl -- hmm sounds like Britney Spears. :D

bare hooters = porn :D :D Pretty easy, huh?

[Robyn1007]

bare hooters = porn :D :D Pretty easy, huh?

Actually, not really. As Blazedog mentioned earlier, sites which discuss things like breast cancer may show "bare hooters" and in no way be porn. Is it fair to block women whose only access to online health information may be a library from getting potentially life saving information?

[tbb113]

bare hooters = porn :D :D Pretty easy, huh?

how about when it is showing women how to do a self-check examination? Or showing what a lump could look like on the breast. Still porn?

[Robyn1007]

Tyra, we must have been posting at the same time....

[Chefzhat]

Actually, not really. As Blazedog mentioned earlier, sites which discuss things like breast cancer may show "bare hooters" and in no way be porn. Is it fair to block women whose only access to online health information may be a library from getting potentially life saving information?
I'm sort of kidding - don't mind me. :D

However, bare hooters is certainly not required on a breast cancer website. But that's neither here or there. I was just trying to be funny.

Limping off now . . .

[Robyn1007]

I'm sort of kidding - don't mind me. :D

However, bare hooters is certainly not required on a breast cancer website. But that's neither here or there. I was just trying to be funny.

Limping off now . . .

Don't limp off, I think it was just misread, once again, tone is so difficult to read online.... :p :D

[blazedog]

Bare hooters aren't porn -- even under current definitions. That's very clear. From Titian to Hugh Hefner and onward, bare hooters are protected expressions. :)

Porn -- or at least porn that is not protected by the First Amendment -- is something that moves well beyond that. The current definition used by the Supreme Court is as follows -- and FWIW 'community standards" are those of the "nation"

(a) whether "the average person, applying contemporary community standards" would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, Kois v. Wisconsin, supra, at 230, quoting Roth v. United States, supra, at 489;

(b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and

(c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."

[tbb113]

Taking this thread back on track for a minute. Here is a quote from Web2.0 Journal dated March 22, 2006 (bolding is mine)

Anyhow, back to the keynote session, which you can stream. Gates invited Aber Whitcomb of MySpace, who was surprisingly positive about Microsoft as a platform. MySpace.com has 65 millions and is signing up 250,000 new users a day. They have just been ranked as #2 of all websites for the number of hits, surpassing Google, MSN, etc. Amazing!

So, if you have over 65 million people using it and there have been a handful of problems. I think the media once again has blown things out of proportion. (Yes, I realize when it affects you...it doesn't matter what the odds are).

[hlao23]

The thing with myspace is you can post pictures, music, videos, so the same things can't be done with IM or the phone. Plus, it is the "cool" thing to have right now. By having a private myspace, only those people you invite to be your friends can see your profile or post on your page.

What she said. :D

Yeah...I have a Myspace page too. :o

[Gumbeaux]

bare hooters = porn :D :D Pretty easy, huh?

Well, not exactly.

By using that definition, the Bible would have to be considered pornographic!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/bayoutitan/Second%20Album/adamandevecastout.jpg

[erinsue]

Another person with a MySpace account checking in with my general opinions/thoughts.

I think that one thing that isn't being addressed here is that if these kids are "friends" with sexual predators it is because they added and accepted them as such. To be friends with someone, you must send them an Add Friend request, which they in turn have the option to Approve or Deny. MySpace has optional controls that allow you to set your profile up so that you must approve everything that is not put on your page by you - comments (general), photo comments, blog comments. You can also block users individually, if you want.

I personally do not add people that I don't know. Currently I have 65 "friends." For MySpace, that's a tiny number. High school (and younger) kids seem more intent on gathering as many "friends" (or hot girls or guys or whatever) as possible. It's not uncommon to see people with thousands of "friends." My friends are actually people I know, as well as a few bands I enjoy getting updates on, and organizations like the Virginia Stage Company, the Contemporary Art Center of VA, the Chrysler Museum, and my roommate's sketch comedy troupe.

There are MySpace profiles for everything: people (and oftentimes, their pets), organizations, bands, artists, cities (and buildings and streets), tv shows, movies, products, etc. And many of these are NOT put up by random kids, but bands themselves or their record label, producers of movies/tv. MySpace allows kids to become friends with the things that they are into - they can learn quickly and easily that their favorite band is putting out a new album, or enter a movie sweepstakes (yes, legit - sponsored by producers), etc. Keep in mind that Rupert Murdoch (Fox) owns MySpace now, so a lot of the ads you see on the site are for Fox shows (Family Guy, etc.).

What it comes down to as far as "friends" is that it is your (or your child's) responsibility to use good judgement and NOT add cretins. I agree with everyone else that parents should talk to their kids and teach them to be wary of those people you don't know. I've definitely received my share of inappropriate, icky emails from guys. I shudder, delete them, and move on. It's like spam in my inbox, I get rid of it, report it if it is offensive (mailboxes have buttons for reporting spam/abuse of their mail system). In the digital age "don't talk to strangers" has become "don't type to strangers."

I think that MySpace can be an extremely valuable tool IF USED AS IT WAS INTENDED. It was begun as a way to find your friends after college and people have spread out across the country. This is mainly what I use mine for - keeping in touch. Using MySpace as a promotional tool happened naturally (ex: person has a page. person makes page for band they are in. others do same. MySpace begins to offer profiles tailored to bands, where they can stream their music, let people know how to buy their stuff/see where they are going to be on tour, etc.). Once big companies started to get a whiff of how much traffic MySpace was getting, they hopped right on in - looking for the fastest and surest way to advertise directly to their target audience.

Moving on, if anyone is still reading...

Earlier, a poster mentioned that MySpace becomes addictive. It's absolutely true. MySpace is addictive in the same way these boards are addictive. The same way that checking your email is addictive. You check MySpace to keep up with your friends, to post a bulletin looking for a place to live/a ride to work because your car is broken, to write email (I hardly ever use my "real" email anymore as people tend to check MySpace more often than, say, hotmail).

One more thing about sexual predators: MySpace has also helped to catch some. Recently there was a story regarding two boys who had a friend that was dumped by his girlfriend. The two guys created a profile of a fictional teenage girl who found their friend attractive. "Her" profile attracted the attention of a man who began emailing, etc. The guys keep up the correspondence because they think it's funny (teenagers, you know). The man suggests that he and the girl meet up. The two guys agree to the meeting, go to the appointed place, realize the man is way too old for this girl. They call the police, who then come and arrest the man, who admits that he was looking to have sex with this girl. Maybe this doesn't happen every day, but it is one example of how MySpace can be used as a tool for good.

I'm not trying to make any huge points or change anyone's mind here, but I hope I've mentioned some aspects of networking sites that others hadn't thought of before. I also felt like MySpace needed a little defending. It's not a complete den of iniquity. It just requires, as does internet as a whole, a little bit of common sense. Don't want messages from skeezy guys? Keep your cleavage (or other bits) out of your photos. Or make your photos private, so that only your friends can view them. Ditto your blog.

Oh, good lord, this is long and rambling. Sorry! FWIW that was my way more than two cents.

Erin

[ClaraB]

This irritates me to no end. I've personally seen adult men looking at pornography at the library. How in the #@!! are the libraries going to keep kids safe, if they allow men access to porn sites????I found this posted on our library's website (in reference to use of the internet services): Also, be aware that public display of pornography is illegal. Anyone in violation will be asked to leave the Internet or E-mail site immediately and will lose future Internet privileges. The children's section of our libary also offers filtered internet services and requires written parental approval.

[luvItalian]

The thing with myspace is you can post pictures, music, videos, so the same things can't be done with IM or the phone. Plus, it is the "cool" thing to have right now. By having a private myspace, only those people you invite to be your friends can see your profile or post on your page.


I guess just a difference of opinion. There are a lot of "cool" things that my kids are not of the appropriate age to use. I do not worry about making my kids cool, I worry about having them safe, healthy and happy. I have no problem saying I do not care what your friends are allowed to do. My kids are very well liked and have a lot of freinds. Not being on MySpace has not changed that. As far as posting pictures, music and video, does not sound like a good enogh reason to allow them to do something they have to lie about their age for. Be that as it may, I am not judging anyone, just stating my own opinion...sorry if I PO anyone not my intention. I really just wanted people to be aware of the public library's computer policies.

[blazedog]

I found this posted on our library's website (in reference to use of the internet services): Also, be aware that public display of pornography is illegal. Anyone in violation will be asked to leave the Internet or E-mail site immediately and will lose future Internet privileges. The children's section of our libary also offers filtered internet services and requires written parental approval.

While I personally have no particular interest in viewing what is commonly thought of as pornography, your library would actually have a difficult time enforcing this since pornography is difficult to define. Pornography is not protected by the First Amendment -- however, much of what is viewed is erotic but not pornographic and therefore the library has no compelling interest in preventing someone from viewing it -- compelling being the standard for restricting speech.

If the library wanted to prevent children from being exposed to prurient images (an appropriate goal for example), this could be met by having adult only computers -- achieving the goal without trampling first amendment rights.

[Gumbeaux]

I was visiting random MySpace pages today and I ran across a teenage girl's page. She was infuriated that someone had copied her picture and posted it on a porn site. DUH!?! I think she needs to be infuriated with herself for posting personal pictures on the net, especially MySpace where it is a known place for perverts to hang out.

[erinsue]

I was visiting random MySpace pages today and I ran across a teenage girl's page. She was infuriated that someone had copied her picture and posted it on a porn site. DUH!?! I think she needs to be infuriated with herself for posting personal pictures on the net, especially MySpace where it is a known place for perverts to hang out.

Like I said in my ridiculously long post - keep your private stuff private. Use common sense. Or try to - it's amazing how many people lack that.

[Gumbeaux]

The thing with myspace is you can post pictures, music, videos, so the same things can't be done with IM or the phone.

You can easily IM or PM pictures on this, or almost any other forum and you can use a cell phone to send personal info using pics, videos, text, or voice. Teenagers give out cell phone numbers with reckless abandon, so these ways of communication are not 100% safe by any means.





.

[greatcook]

MySpace definitely brings out peoples' opinions!

My friend's 14 year old daughter is on my space. Most of her profile is hidden from everyone except her "friends" a list of people to whom she gives permission to see her site - she does have the option of lying about her age, I guess. That said....she just found out that one of the people on her friends list is a sexual predator. The police came to talk to her at school. The guy (who is in his 40s) owns a local store, so it's also someone she knew.

Such a freaky story...shows how easy it is for kids to not know when they are talking to a predator. And predators are very savvy at getting the info they need to know where to find the people they talk to! Educating and communicating with kids about what they do online is so so important...

Has anyone ever come across anything on a social network site or elsewhere worth reporting? Sites like Cybertipline are one of the best ways for law enforcement to get tips on how to find the predators out there!

[krhm]

Erinsue, I was the one who posted about the sites being addictive. I too check these boards and my email several times a day, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. What bothers me, though, is how this virtual friendship seems to be replacing real human interaction for many of the kids I see using them. They used to come into my classrooms and talk to each other, and now I come in and they're just all silently typing away. I just don't see as many new friendships being formed as I used to. I'm sure there are other reasons for this too, but it seems like the MySpace sites and Facebook are at least partly to blame.

[Laura]

I guess just a difference of opinion. There are a lot of "cool" things that my kids are not of the appropriate age to use. I do not worry about making my kids cool, I worry about having them safe, healthy and happy. I have no problem saying I do not care what your friends are allowed to do. My kids are very well liked and have a lot of freinds. Not being on MySpace has not changed that. As far as posting pictures, music and video, does not sound like a good enogh reason to allow them to do something they have to lie about their age for. Be that as it may, I am not judging anyone, just stating my own opinion...sorry if I PO anyone not my intention. I really just wanted people to be aware of the public library's computer policies.

You asked if someone's daughter could do on myspace what they can do on IM or the phone. I answered. I said nothing about your kids being cool/not cool. I simply said it was the cool thing to do which is why a lot of kids have it. I don't think I offered an opinion, just facts. IMO if kids want to find ways to meet people they don't know online, they will. FTR, my DD deleted her myspace and my DS' account is private.

[erinsue]

Erinsue, I was the one who posted about the sites being addictive. I too check these boards and my email several times a day, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. What bothers me, though, is how this virtual friendship seems to be replacing real human interaction for many of the kids I see using them. They used to come into my classrooms and talk to each other, and now I come in and they're just all silently typing away. I just don't see as many new friendships being formed as I used to. I'm sure there are other reasons for this too, but it seems like the MySpace sites and Facebook are at least partly to blame.

Actually, I agree with you. That's one of my pet peeves about the internet in general - reduction of real communication in favor of the e-version. MySpace happened after I was out of college (I'm 26 now), so I really have no idea about how much the site is used while kids are actually at school.

I didn't take your comment about it being addictive to mean that kids can't stop themselves or need it like a coke addict needs coke. I just wanted to point out that it wasn't necessarily a terrible addiction to have.

My best guess for the kids typing instead of talking is that they're probably saying a bunch of stuff they shouldn't. :rolleyes:

[greatcook]

I think the bigger problem is not only are kids saying things they shouldn't, but they don't always realize that pretty much anything online enters into the public domain!

Saw this article today that upset me: article (http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/03/31/third_teenage_girl_charged_in_alleged_child_pornog raphy_case/)

Whether you think social networking sites are great or should be closely monitored, I think we all can agree that there's no need for child pornography online! If nothing else, that makes the case for me that there should be ways to report things like this easily, like cybertipline.

[Gumbeaux]

I think the bigger problem is not only are kids saying things they shouldn't, but they don't always realize that pretty much anything online enters into the public domain!

Very true!

Also be careful when perusing a forum from work. The forum administrator can view your IP and if your company has it's own servers, he or she can see which company you work for. Not all forum administrators are ethical. One time a forum administrator gave out my IP to someone that didn't like me. Needless to say, I wasn't too happy.

You're safe on a forum like this one but some of the smaller forums run off of servers at someone's house can be risky.

[greatcook]

Great point! The other site of that is that some ISPs are able to help law enforcement to catch online predators when someone makes a report through Cybertipline, so I guess they can use their powers for good too :)

Also wanted to share these success stories of predators captured because of people's reports: stories (http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=376)

Have to look for good news wherever you can with this sort of thing!

[mbrogier]

The age to sign up for MySpace is 14 not 16. The 14 year old sites are private by default until the user becomes 16. It's a way the site itself is trying to protect teens. Here is a link to safety tips that they publish on their site. MySpace Safety Tips (http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/misc/tipsForParents.html) I have a MySpace account, but it is only so I can read other people's pages.

I was on internet chat rooms when they were first becoming popular. I never had a problem with dirty old men. I knew how to protect myself.

eta: fix broken link

[greatcook]

I think that MySpace is taking some great steps to help protect teens, like taking down a number of "offensive" profiles lately...the safety tips also offer great advice, as do the sites listed at the bottom of that sheet (the first one, Netsmartz, is also run by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, like Cybertipline).

Where some teens run into problems is when they disregard the structures in place meant to protect them, like lying about their age so that their profile can be public.

Glad you avoided the "dirty old men" mbrogier - sounds like you knew your stuff. I just wish that all teens/parents/etc. took the time to protect themselves/their kids online too!

[greatcook]

Just out today from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children/Cybertipline:

Blog Beware - tips and quiz (http://www.cybertipline.com/missingkids/servlet/NewsEventServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=2334)

Looks like a great resource for people to use when talking about this stuff with kids. Anyone think that they'd use it?