Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Your extended network of "friends."
Story by Marcelina Blea
Parents and internet users are complaining over safety issues with MySpace due to underage kids being kidnapped. But countless networking sites have been around long before MySpace. The first female kidnapped met her attacker almost 10 years before MySpace existed.
Surprise! These type of crimes are not new at all.
MySpace is marketed as “a place for friends.” Whereas other networking websites and services, specifically make it known their users are there to meet new people, not to reconnect with old friends. This makes the user more aware of the possible dangers.
The main difference with MySpace is the way they place everything on one page with its user-friendly features. Finding a user on MySpace is no problem, anyone can search a person by their name or email. The cure doesn't lie with banning MySpace but educating teenagers.
People lie. This fact becomes believable with age. How many times have you heard "I'm going to make you a star!" or something similar? Maybe people are telling the truth and just are into paper mache. Maybe I can still make a bid on the London Bridge. Internet users have seemed to drop their own personal boundaries. I have met people first on the internet. However, I shared friends (in real life) with the two people and I knew both for at least two years before meeting either one in person. If you meet someone from the internet in person, do so in at a busy coffee shop. Also, examine the purpose of meeting the person and the friendship between you and them.
MySpace is geared towards that bored younger generation who don't have after school activities. Preventing teenagers from logging into myspace is not the answer. There are plenty of other websites to replace MySpace. While I was in highschool in the mid-nineties, my friends used ICQ, Yahoo! Chat and hyperterminal.
The possibility anyone may read your personal page is known. There are basic rules, even listed in the "safetytips," on myspace. A main rule to know is anyone can see what you post on your page. A big attraction to myspace is thier easy navigation. Chat, groups, blog, calendar, classifieds, bulletins, music and customizing your page are all within clicks. Myspace uses simple applications, which almost every computer has already, such as flash. Meanwhile, with other websites you have to download or update your programs, such as Yahoo! Or AOL.
Teenagers need to be educated about internet safety. Believe me, I don't put it past my own mom to look me up on MySpace. I only hope she doesn't find my Las Vegas photos on it.
Parents and internet users are complaining over safety issues with MySpace due to underage kids being kidnapped. But countless networking sites have been around long before MySpace. The first female kidnapped met her attacker almost 10 years before MySpace existed.
Surprise! These type of crimes are not new at all.
MySpace is marketed as “a place for friends.” Whereas other networking websites and services, specifically make it known their users are there to meet new people, not to reconnect with old friends. This makes the user more aware of the possible dangers.
The main difference with MySpace is the way they place everything on one page with its user-friendly features. Finding a user on MySpace is no problem, anyone can search a person by their name or email. The cure doesn't lie with banning MySpace but educating teenagers.
People lie. This fact becomes believable with age. How many times have you heard "I'm going to make you a star!" or something similar? Maybe people are telling the truth and just are into paper mache. Maybe I can still make a bid on the London Bridge. Internet users have seemed to drop their own personal boundaries. I have met people first on the internet. However, I shared friends (in real life) with the two people and I knew both for at least two years before meeting either one in person. If you meet someone from the internet in person, do so in at a busy coffee shop. Also, examine the purpose of meeting the person and the friendship between you and them.
MySpace is geared towards that bored younger generation who don't have after school activities. Preventing teenagers from logging into myspace is not the answer. There are plenty of other websites to replace MySpace. While I was in highschool in the mid-nineties, my friends used ICQ, Yahoo! Chat and hyperterminal.
The possibility anyone may read your personal page is known. There are basic rules, even listed in the "safetytips," on myspace. A main rule to know is anyone can see what you post on your page. A big attraction to myspace is thier easy navigation. Chat, groups, blog, calendar, classifieds, bulletins, music and customizing your page are all within clicks. Myspace uses simple applications, which almost every computer has already, such as flash. Meanwhile, with other websites you have to download or update your programs, such as Yahoo! Or AOL.
Teenagers need to be educated about internet safety. Believe me, I don't put it past my own mom to look me up on MySpace. I only hope she doesn't find my Las Vegas photos on it.
# posted by Phil Deez @ 10:28 AM 