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Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 5420
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 12:42 pm: | 
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This is from AOL News. While it's a step in the right direction, I know several teenagers who have lied about their age in their profiles. Another problem, as the article states, there is nothing stopping an adult from siging up as a minor. But, as I said, his is a start.
MySpace Takes Steps to Protect Young Users
By ANICK JESDANUN, AP
The case of Katherine Lester, 16, who flew to the Mideast to be with a man she met on MySpace, is just the latest to highlight safety concerns about the site.
NEW YORK (June 21) - MySpace.com is planning new restrictions on how adults may contact its younger users in response to growing concerns about the safety of teenagers who frequent the popular online social networking site.
The site already prohibits kids 13 and under from setting up accounts and displays only partial profiles for those registered as 14 or 15 years old unless the person viewing the profile is already on the teen's list of friends.
Under the changes, announced Wednesday and taking effect next week, MySpace users who are 18 or over could no longer request to be on a 14- or 15-year-old's friends' list unless they already know either the youth's e-mail address or full name.
Any user will still be able to get a partial profile of younger users by searching for other attributes, such as display name. The difference is that currently, adults can then request to be added to a youth's list to view the full profile; that option will disappear for adults registered as 18 and over.
However, users under 18 can still make such contact, and MySpace has no mechanism for verifying that users submit their true age when registering. That means adults can sign up as teens and request to join a 14-year-old's list of friends, which would enable the full profiles.
The partial profiles display gender, age and city. Full profiles describe hobbies, schools and any other personal details a user may provide.
Driven largely by word of mouth, MySpace has grown astronomically since its launch in January 2004 and is now second in the United States among all Web sites by total page views, behind only Yahoo Inc., according to comScore Media Metrix. The site currently has some 87 million users, about a quarter registered as minors, according to the company.
At MySpace, which was bought last year by News Corp. for $580 million, users can expand their circles of friends by exploiting existing connections, rather than meeting randomly or by keyword matches alone.
It offers a mix of features - message boards, games, Web journals - designed to keep its youth-oriented visitors clicking on its advertising-supported pages.
MySpace has recently become a target of parents, schools and law enforcement officials concerned that teens who hang out at MySpace can fall victim to sexual predators.
Just this week, a 14-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old user sued MySpace and News Corp., seeking $30 million in damages. And earlier this month, a 16-year-old girl who tricked her parents into getting her a passport flew to the Mideast to be with a 20-year-old man she met through MySpace. U.S. officials in Jordan persuaded the teen to turn around and go home.
MySpace officials say the new restrictions have been long planned and are unrelated to recent events.
Besides the contact restrictions, all users - not just those 14 and 15 - will have the option to make only partial profiles available to those not already on their friends list.
All users also will get an option to prevent contact from people outside their age group. Currently, they may only choose to require that a person know their e-mail or last name first; that will remain an option to those 16 and over, even as it becomes mandatory for those younger.
MySpace also will beef up its ad-targeting technology, so that it can avoid displaying gambling and other adult-themed sites on minors' profile pages and target special public-service announcements to them.
The changes follow a number of safety-related measures that includes the hiring of a former federal prosecutor and Microsoft Corp. executive as its online safety chief. MySpace already has developed safety tips for parents and children and devotes scores of employees to monitoring the site around the clock.
06/21/06 03:45 EDT
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Bajou
Citizen
Username: Bajou
Post Number: 686
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 1:38 pm: |
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It's about time...
May I suggest that all parents whose children use the computer spend some time checking out MySpace.com. First of all the kids lie about their age. The kids make themselves older then they are and the pervs make themselves younger. MySpace has become like Match.com for teenagers. Be aware, ask questions about new friends that just suddenly pop out of nowhere, and most of all review your childs profile so you know where your child is at..
Yep I spy on my kids... |
Eats Shoots & Leaves
Citizen
Username: Mfpark
Post Number: 3448
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 1:43 pm: |
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Yes, Bajou, I agree. I sat down with my older son and explained why I was nervous and he offered to show me around his site and see who his friends were, etc. I am glad he offered so I did not have to insist on it, and we had a pretty good time goofing around together, laughing about his lame friends, making fun of his goofy pictures. He actually was proud to have such a network of friends, and because he lives far away from me I was able to see some of their pictures and get a sense of who they are (all of his friends currently live in either Mwood or his new hometown).
Now I don't feel so nervous because he seems to understand, and I told him I will check in with him periodically to see how he is using it, and he sort of agreed to it (we'll see how it plays out). But by all means parents need to monitor this stuff closely. |
Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2275
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 2:14 pm: |
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It's the internet. Wild stuff happens here. It is NOT a playground for kids. The porn shop is open 24-7 and it doesn't cost anything to visit. Anyone can find it and will even if they don't want to.
So duh, of course you need to watch what you kids are doing online. If this stuff scares you, then don't let you kids use the net unsupervised. I don't know what else to tell you.
To me this is the same post, I've seen hundreds of times since the inception of the net. It just seems so obvious, that I can't understand the need to repeat it. |
Bajou
Citizen
Username: Bajou
Post Number: 690
Registered: 2-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 2:25 pm: |
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Dear Alleygater...I think you need to stop drinking coffee today. If you don't like the tread don't read it... |
Paper Bag Bandit
Citizen
Username: Glock17
Post Number: 1185
Registered: 7-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 2:30 pm: |
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I agree with Alleygater |
Carla
Citizen
Username: Elbowroom
Post Number: 88
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 2:33 pm: |
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I agree with Alleygater. I don't know why people don't sue their internet service provider, Microsoft, all the other software makers and everybody else for making it so easy for people to use the internet for bad things.
"a 16-year-old girl who tricked her parents into getting her a passport" yup, that sounds like myspace's fault. |
Alleygater
Citizen
Username: Alleygater
Post Number: 2276
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 5:11 pm: |
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Bajou, it's more fun to comment on how much you don't like the thread then to ignore it. Heck, I learned this behavior from you.  |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 8161
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 5:15 pm: |
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What I can't figure out about the 16 y/o is not so much about getting the passport, but whether her parents spoke with the parents of the other girls supposedly going on the trip, insisted on seeing hotel confirmations, itineraries, etc.
"'bye, Mom. I'm going to Canada. I'll be back next Sunday."
???
Things must really have changed since I was 16. |
anon
Supporter
Username: Anon
Post Number: 2806
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006 - 8:31 pm: |
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Things must really have changed since I was 16.
No kidding! |
Tofugrl3
Citizen
Username: Tofugrl3
Post Number: 29
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 12:30 am: |
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What many parents don't realize, many teens have more than one MySpace profile..one for the parents to see, and one for their friends. |
Hank Zona
Supporter
Username: Hankzona
Post Number: 5738
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 7:40 am: |
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is it true that MySpace is owned by NewsCorp? |
Project 37
Citizen
Username: Project37
Post Number: 125
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 8:03 am: |
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Yep:
http://www.newscorp.com/operations/other.html
I'm definitely not a fan of myspace. Personally, I think the design is horrendous and not at all aesthetically pleasing or intuitive. The basic page template tends to be sloppy and cluttered. I'd rather look at a Blogspot page or even LiveJournal. Maybe I'm getting old, but myspace gives me a headache.
It's also a bit CREEPY. Bajou's right about the "match.com" vibe. Sometimes it's a bit more like nerve.com, but with kids. Yikes. Tofugrl3 makes a good point. Kids are sometimes a bit too clever and find a workaround if they want to.
As for suing myspace because of an incident involving another user ($30M?!?!?), that just confirms that the person doesn't understand how the world works. |
Lou
Citizen
Username: Flf
Post Number: 191
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 8:26 am: |
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Carla, I don't think it's myspace's fault. I think it's the parents fault!
Why would a parent of a 16y.o. daughter not question the fact that their daughter all of a sudden want a passport to go somewhere on her own without specific details of the trip?
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Carla
Citizen
Username: Elbowroom
Post Number: 90
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 9:37 am: |
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Lou,
Read what I said. The bit about it being myspace's fault is sarcasm. Of course it's the parent's responsibility to know what's going on. It might not be easy but it has to be done. |
Lou
Citizen
Username: Flf
Post Number: 194
Registered: 8-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, June 22, 2006 - 9:49 am: |
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Carla, sorry, I misunderstood you and didn't read the sarcasm. |
flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 651
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, June 24, 2006 - 8:48 pm: |
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I use myspace (for the original purpose of networking) and my 2 little cousins are on it as well (ages 13 & 14). I know most stuff about myspace, and therefore can keep an eye on them, and like being involved -- they also list themselves as their proper age and have their profiles private. The internet is an extremely scary thing, and while I think a lot of points can be made valid that myspace is a place created to put personal info out there, and they are responsible for communicating the dangers, I would think that if I had a kid that age, I'd know every step they were taking online. It's a hard thing to argue - who is responsible for what, but I think that all parties want people to remain safe... It makes it easier for me to know what my little cousins are doing on the internet, because I am so involved in the internet. I think it is a good tip to explore and learn about the sites your kids are hanging around on. |
peteglider
Citizen
Username: Peteglider
Post Number: 2023
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, June 24, 2006 - 9:21 pm: |
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oh come on, it won't make ANY difference -
on the internet I can be male or female, 15 or 55.
no one checks, no one verifies. so a potential bad guy now has to take the time to open a 2nd account as a 14 year old.
that said, if a person is under 30, they are highly likely to have a myspace account (or friendster, or similar). (I recently proved that to a co worker, who was certain his 18 and 20 year olds did not -- took my no more than 10 minutes to find both of them on myspace, and the 18 year old had at least 2 accounts...)
your kid's pcs with internet should not ever, ever be in their rooms and they should never be able to have "private" internet time.
Pete |
Paper Bag Bandit
Citizen
Username: Glock17
Post Number: 1255
Registered: 7-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, June 24, 2006 - 9:25 pm: |
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Why is it that I had internet and a computer in my room...I was never stalked by creepy old people...never bothered to look at porn until I was nearly out of high school...and didn't travel cross country to meet people? (Not to mention the webcam thing from south orange specific, jeez)
Because I didn't do stupid things. It's not that hard to be safe on the internet. It just takes a little common sense and self control. |
sac
Supporter
Username: Sac
Post Number: 3557
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, June 24, 2006 - 9:36 pm: |
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Re "It just takes a little common sense and self control."
These are things that are in very short supply for a lot of teenagers, unfortunately. And that isn't something to blame on anyone ... it is the nature of teenagers, especially the younger ones. (This according to all kinds of brain research, as if we needed the scientists to tell us this.) And, believe me, the younger ones are on MySpace also.
No internet in my kids' bedrooms anytime soon. Maybe Senior year ... we'll see. |
flugermongers
Citizen
Username: Flugermongers
Post Number: 653
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, June 25, 2006 - 12:55 am: |
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When I was 16 we got the internet. Well actually, when I was little, we got Prodigy, but back then that wasn't much of a web - just e-cards and looking up stuff on a dictionary, etc. But at 16, we got AOL. I went in to chatrooms and the like, experiemented where I probably should not have - but I knew the dangers because I was educated (by my mother) and gave out NO personal info to anyone, and was very wary of people. Some parents, even if internet savvy, don't know everything. I can't tell you how many people I've met with viruses on their computers because of pop ups and "offers." If you're a worried parent, educate yourself, and your kids... Don't just say "no internet" - tell them the truth about what's out there in terms of creepy people wanting to hurt them, so they understand it's not just a home game - the internet can be very scary! |
Strings
Supporter
Username: Blue_eyes
Post Number: 875
Registered: 4-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, June 25, 2006 - 1:17 pm: |
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It's amazing how much parents don't know about sites like MySpace even though it is incredibly easy to access all of it.
I had an incident where a student from the middle school I formerly taught at created a fake myspace account with my picture (taken from my real account used to reconnect with old high school and college friends) and my name but TONS of false information. Within minutes of being notified by the guidance counselor I was able to figure out who was involved in creating it and had it removed. I called the school to let them know but have a feeling nothing was done about it. I was able to find the profiles of a lot of students I had who were 12 - 14 years old but had lied about their age. Parents, if you're concerned, can create an account and spend some time using the search feature to find out what's really going on, it's not difficult at all.
In my opinion, parents should be responsible for monitoring what their children are doing on the internet. There are so many options from parental controls that come installed with any web broswer to programs that can be installed to track or prevent sites being accessed. I don't have children, so maybe it's easier said than done, but personally I can't think of a single good reason why parents wouldn't be checking their computers regularly. |
Matt Foley
Citizen
Username: Mattfoley
Post Number: 711
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, June 25, 2006 - 2:03 pm: |
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When I was young we had an etch-a-sketch. I used to fiddle with it all day long. Once I managed to plot out a rough rendering of an elderly man playing a tuba.
Thank goodness the internet did not exist (other than Al Gore's version) then. I had to wait until my late twenties to see good filthy porno. I may have quit etcha sketching long before my prime. |
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