Some Thoughts on Myspace Safety

By Missy

Myspace, every parent’s nightmare. Myspace is the one thing that scares my mom about the Internet, I do not think she is alone on that either. AIM might scare her a little, but the only thing I do when I’m on the Internet is check my myspace, add new pictures, and change my song stuff like that.

When Tom created Myspace, they thought they were thinking ahead, “you can only create an account if you’re 14 or older.” Like that’s going to stop us. The creators telling us that we had to be 14 made us want a Myspace more. I had one when I was 12, and I didn’t care what went on with it, I didn’t know that people could hack into my account, get my personal information, read my conversations. I know that there are sexual predators that attack on Myspace, but I can’t help that, and I don’t think there is any safe way to have a Myspace. Myspace is addictive, and now that I have one I can’t help but go on it. I know it is bad, and I know it will only end up doing bad things but I can’t stop, and I don’t think you can get other kids to quit going on myspace either

Trying to make Myspace safer is like taking nicotine out of cigarettes-it might work for a little while, but not for long, cigarettes are addictive because of nicotine if you took it out, there would be no use for it anymore. People would find a way to make cigarettes have nicotine, just like kids these days would do anything to make myspace fun.

Myspace is the only Internet web page I ever go on except for Photobucket, which I only go on for Myspace. There is no way to make it safe, I know that. So why keep trying. It is not our fault that there are a bunch of pedophiles out there. Why should we have to hide ourselves because of them? WE SHOULDN’T! Life isn’t always simple, myspace is all I have really that I know I can go on and not have to worry. I know exactly what I’m doing from changing my background to adding friends. Myspace is my sanctuary, and making it safe is pretty much impossible.

Keeping your kid’s password a secret might help though. If you kept your child’s password a secret than it would help stop his/her friends from going on and messing anything up on their profile, or talking to people they don’t know or talk to, it could keep them safe from one of their friends saying something wrong to someone they like, or someone that they don’t like, they might tell them how much they like them or how much they dislike them there are so many things keeping your kids password a secret benefits, I know that but I can name about 7 people that know my password, and I know a lot of other people who have told there password to boyfriends/ girlfriends, ex girlfriends/ ex boyfriends, friends, and parents should be the only ones to know their kids password, that way they can go on and check things out their password should be theirs and theirs only no one should ever know your kids password, or go on your child’s myspace. If anyone goes on to check your kids myspace it should be you or your kids no friends or anyone.

If you set their profile to private it would make it harder for people you don’t want your kids talking to , to talk to them, if you go on their myspace and check everything every once in a while, and have one of your own.

Doing any of that still wouldn’t make it totally safe, myspace is what it is, and it will always be that way, there is no changing how dangerous , or safe, or fun, or boring , or addictive it really is. Your feelings on myspace are all really just an opinion, some people might think its safe, and others might tell their kids that they can’t have one at all because they think it’s so dangerous.

Myspace, it may be every parent’s nightmare, or it may just be every kids dream.

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