Question for parents regarding MySpace

[lovesmurfs]

DS12 just discovered it. And now we have parental controls on our computer. It led him way down a path I'm not willing for him to go.

 

[MELSMICE]

Two of my 3 DD's have it - the other can't be bothered in "keeping up her page". Both of my DD's are set to private.

I also have an account that I use to communicate with my dance assistant's, teachers & some students through. It is also set to private.

I monitor my DD's accounts by checking it a few times a week.

 

[TurboKitty]

My DS has a Myspace. However, his friends list consists of me, his aunts, Weird Al Yankovich and his aunt's cat. I use my account more than he does, and I know his password, so I can check for anything wonky. He's not gotten any wrong/vulgar messages yet...For that matter, neither have I.

 

[MrsPete]

The problem with MySpace is lack of regulation for kids. Kids need to be protected from things like this.

First, the "set to private" thing is a joke -- it takes about five minutes to figure out how to get around that. Many kids lie about their ages on MySpace; I teach them at school, so I know their true ages -- that kid in my freshman class isn't 18, but she's claiming that she is! Then, even if your kid is being careful and isn't giving out too much information, it only takes one idiot-kid to "link" to his page (maybe even without his knowledge or permission) to mention that he attends ___ high school in ___ town -- so much for your kid being careful! Now it doesn't take a genius to figure out where your kid goes to school!

Then there's the inappropriate language and pictures -- this is just not a site that should be available to children.

The concept's wildly popular, but the place needs to be revamped for the protection of children.

 

[tinkersmama]

If you set your own space to private, the only people that can see your page is people that you allow.

 

[LisaNJ25]

My 14yo has a page.. I do also.

I check his page a few times a week. If I see something I dont like I have hin delete it.

pervs can find kids on places other than myspace..

 

[Pugdog007]

First, the "set to private" thing is a joke -- it takes about five minutes to figure out how to get around that.

If your space is set to private, you can only view it by sending a friend request to the owner and them accepting it. So I'm not sure what you mean by it being easy to "get around it?"

 

[MrsPete]

If your space is set to private, you can only view it by sending a friend request to the owner and them accepting it. So I'm not sure what you mean by it being easy to "get around it?"

My high school students showed me how to access private pages. You go through someone else's page, which is easy enough if you know someone else from the same school, or even if you want to search in a particular area. I'm not familiar enough to "walk you through it" without the page in front of me, but it was very easy.

Essentially there's no such thing as a "private" MySpace page, but there is such thing as a false sense of security from that label.

 

[tinkersmama]

It doesn't work like that. I tried it. You can only access a private page if you, yourself, are a friend of that person.

 

[MrsPete]

It doesn't work like that. I tried it. You can only access a private page if you, yourself, are a friend of that person.

Nope. One day in class my students were arguing about it -- a couple of them declared that their pages were "safe" because they were "private". I let them use my computer, and one student almost immediately found her way to their "private" pages. They were dumbfounded.

 

[Wonderlandmom]

Are you talking about hackers that went through a hole??
That was fixed.
http://grownupgeek.blogspot.com/2006/08/myspace-closes-giant-security-hole.html

 

[Linda/MA]

This boils down to parental responsibility. If your child is going to be on MySpace, or any other service, you have to set the rules and stick to them. You must check up on them. You MUST BE THE PARENT, NOT THEIR FRIEND. MySpace is not bad, nor is IM, Xanga, Facebook, etc. If you think keeping your child from MySpace is going to keep them innocent, think again.

Exactly how I feel. I always say "never say never" especially when it comes to kids. Most likely, it will come back to haunt you.

 

[tinkersmama]

Find out from the kids on Monday how to do this. I am still sticking to it that it can't be done because I have tried it with other people that I am friends with that have friends pages that are private. You can pull up their page, but you can't view anything but their name, their "title", and how to contact them. Now, you can send someone an email if their page is set to private, but you can't view their page. Prove me wrong and I'll go with it.

 

[i<3Disney]

I had a myspace (I'm 23, not a parent) but wanted to give my opinion.

I got a myspace after nagging from my friends but it dawned on me that the internet is just too open. I had it set so just my friends could see it and I still didn't feel safe. I also don't really see the point of it There are so many whackos out there, why open up yourself more to it?

 

[KarenB]

My DSs (16 and 18) have/had both myspace and xanga. DH and I monitor their pages as well as randomly read a few of their friends' pages. I wouldn't personally comment or talk to them about what I was reading unless it was a situation that would be hurting themselves or someone else. I just hope they have listened to what we have been saying to them as they get older and make good choices.

Karen

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

I'll admit to being an Internet Idiot when it comes to this stuff. DS is 13 and carefully monitored every time he is on the pc. If, heaven forbid, he desides to go against our wishes as get a Myspace (or whatever) account, is there a way to go look around that area and find it?

I know how to check out the history and such on a computer, but as was pointed out, he could just go to a friend's house.

 

[tinkersmama]

You can do a search myspace for his email address or by his name.

 

[grinningghost]

My DD17 has one, but I look at it regularly and she knows I do.

I am totally dumbstruck at some of her "friends" pages though. If their parents had any idea what kind of stuff they post, I think they'd be mortified.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

I have never been able to figure out why MySpace gets so much bad media- apparently the press will do anything for a story. Saying that MySpace is bad because there are bad people on there is the exact same thing as saying that the whole Internet is bad, because it contains porn and instructions for making bombs. It's such a huge generalization, mostly done by a media who knows nothing about it.

Do those of you who don't allow MySpace accounts allow your kids to have blogs? Or instant messengers? Or e-mail? Or post on message boards? I just can't figure out the point of blocking one and allowing the others.

 

[cruisnfamily]

First, the "set to private" thing is a joke -- it takes about five minutes to figure out how to get around that. .

You've posted this information on my space threads in the past, and I've asked you in the past to please explain what you mean by this. I'd like to know how to get around the private thing, because DH is very knowledgeable with computers and he can't do it. Neither can I. I'd love to know how you can do it in "five minutes".

DD13 has a myspace, as do her dad and I and we monitor it daily. She keeps hers clean as do most of her friends. The ones that don't are deleted from her friends list.

My space in and of itself is not evil. It's how you behave on there as well as how the people you interact with behave. It's a neat place for the kids to share photos and post messages, end of story.