Comments on: MySpace reaching out to parents

Social networking site and other groups are trying to address concerns that kids are being set up for trouble.

[catherineka]

about blocking my space

I just need to find out the details. My daughter already has an account with myspace.com & if I go the the website for the web filter, will that be able to block her current account?
Please reply as soon as possible, I am very concerned & not as computer savvy as she is & I'm pretty sure she knows how to get around to get to the web site. I don't want to get her in trouble & much more become one of the statistics with the predators. I also have another e-mail address, [e-mail], please do send your reply to both e-mail address.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Catherine

[azkahuna]

KeyKatcher is a solution

Parents: You don't have to be a computer genius to monitor your kids online. This simple to use plug-in device will monitor your kids keystrokes on the keyboard so you can playback what they are saying in chat rooms, emails, etc.

Go to www.keykatcher.com and learn for yourself. You do have a choice.

[dad1570]

Easlily block myspace or any site with...

www.website-blocker.com has a free trial, super easy, can block and unblock any website

[Lamentation]

Apparently maturing is optional

Wow. That was quite a bit of screaming. Caps lock is on the left...undo it by hitting the big button.

Myspace is just as dangerous as any other online service. For goodness sakes, AIM can be considered a danger zone if you put an uninformed person (person. Not child. Adults can be very uninformed) in front of it! There's always the rule of thumb to 1. Never give out personal information and 2. Never meet a stranger (which shouldn't be difficult if you don't tell them your personal information.) It's the same rules I use when editing my website, checking my e-mail, and going on any instant messaging service.

I have a myspace and facebook and I'm not being stalked. I'm not going to meet random people. Why? Because I'm informed.

I don't know everything about the internet, and I certainly don't know a handful of people I talk to daily online. I've been talking to one person for over 6 years, but he still doesn't know who I really am or where I live. I trust him, but there's always that chance he could be a psycho.

So when you find that caps lock key, take a breath, and open your eyes a little. If your kids aren't informed, then it would be a very unwise decision to let them make a myspace. But assuming you raised them well in an age of technology, they should be fine.

Myspace is only as scary as you decide to make it.

[letgo12]

MySpace is perfectly safe..

I pretty much agree with what everyone is saying. The solution
to these predators is just to make sure your child has a private
profile,That only their friends can see. If parents are so
concerned that if they can not monitor their child's profile this
way then just ask your child to view their profile. If they have
nothing to hide then they will show you. I am so sick of people
saying how bad myspace is. It has some great uses too. i am a
23 year old professional and have been able to keep in touch
with so many of my old friends this way. I have been able to
post new job listings at my job, my friends have been able to get
rid of kittens, sell their cars, make tributes to people who have
passed. Parents need to calm down bc if their child isnt allowed
to have myspace, they will just find some other venue to
communicate online and it may not be llike myspace, which has
the option of providing a private profile. I do agree that yes,
information as to the childs whereabouts should be limited. But
people need to stop thinking so negatively about the site.
Anything can happen on a daily basis regardless of if a child is
on myspace or not. If no information was ever given out, then
why bother even using the internet? I dunno.. i just think that
things are goin to happen regardless of myspace, i understand
wanting to shield a child from any potential harm, but
still ..don't blame it all on myspace

[4thecause]

Myspace is safe

letgo12
At 23 yrs of age, maybe you should defer to the parents as to whether to "calm down" or as to how to rear a child. If you are on line as for business reasons, or keeping in touch with friends that you know fine for you. but what happenned to free Group sites and Websites offered by your ISPs?? And realize, if you are on-line, you are being watched. Not just the children.

[retiredgamer]

Not so simple

Sites like Ebay are using simple confirmation of identity methods that work well for them since it's users are almost entirely real people and/or registered businesses. Myspace could use such methods to verify people too, but a significant part of their users are fledgling bands (these are bands are what myspace was actually created for in the 1st place), products, ideas, and fictional characters. A large draw of myspace is it's ability to "flesh out" or bring more to life cool things that might not have any direct assosiation with the people who run them. For a few immediate examples, try searching myspace for god, jesus, iraq veteran memorial, borat, or any fictional tv or movie character. The accounts you find would not be traceable to a particuliar person, nor should they be. Even my hometown has a myspace account. I doubt it's official, but it serves a good purpose. How would you suggest such accounts be verified?

[kenschmitz]

Bull Crap!

My daughter is 11 years old, Someone else made the site for here and set her age to 15. I have sent two requests to MySpace to have this removed and neither has been acted on yet. I know everyone is busy but my only concern is not to allow someone else to propegate photographs of my daughter. At home I have a firewall and parental security, with a content filter. She asked me the other day when I got her a computer if she could goto "Barbie.com". That is not the voice of a myspace.commer.

What laws are being broken by intentially listing an 11 year old as a 15 year old by an adult.

If myspace is really doing something then they would have an ssn lookup table or license lookup table to review the majority of their postings.

I am an IT manager and I know they can do MUCH BETTER. Adding people to look at content leaves the determiniation of age to a human.

Get with it myspace.

[xchocolove]

not that big of a deal

I also, am a teen. I've had an account at MySpace for about 2 years now, and no one I know has had any harassment. Like all other teens here have been saying, all you really have to do is play it safe. I made my profile private, and only open to friends. I have no personal information about me. I add only people I know, or that my friends know in person. I know how to be safe on the Internet, mostly because my parents talk to me about it and because of computer/technology classes I took at school.

I do not think that parents need to blow this up more than it is. If your kids are underage and/or you want their profile deleted, it's not hard. (Not that deleting their profile would probably make that much of a difference. They'll find a way to get past you.) There are probably a lot of parents wanting their kids' sites to be deleted, so please be patient if it takes a little longer than you thought.

I agree, there are many improvements that can, and maybe, should be made. But I'm sure they're working on it, so cut them a little slack.

Teenagers (and adults too!) will make mistakes. That's how they learn. So don't be too strict, or when they're in college, away from parents, they'll have a harder time dealing with their freedom, when their choices have more serious repercussions.

All in all, MySpace is a good way to keep in touch with your old friends, make new ones (just be careful about that), and develop social skills. Nowadays, knowing how to use technology (mainly the computer) and common are really useful abilities that you need to be successful. This is a fun and easy way to learn.

As I read in one website, "The objective isn't to stop kids from using social networking sites, it's to make these sites safe for them." We need to stop blaming each other and work together to reach that goal.

[dbogart]

It is a big deal

There are more weirdos out there than our young people think. Most children are very inquisitive and will (without thinking) talk to someone they cannot see because they think they cannot get to them. This Teen and friends have not had any harassment since he/she started. You are NOT the only user (250,00 a day)and there are BAD people out in cyberspace.That is A BIG DEAL. Never let your guard down for a second.I monitor everything on my computer weather my children like it or not. I would rather have a child a little upset than DEAD.

[azkahuna]

Monitoring Your Kids Online is Every Parents Responsibility

Whomever wrote that monitoring your kids activity online should start with the "eyeball" is dead on. But thats not always possible. Talking with your kids and making them understand the consequences is also recommended.

I have tried a very simple, easy to use keylogger to monitor my kids sessions online when we are not around. The best investment I made was buying a Keykatcher. That way I can play back everything they are typing and see what they're up to.

Nobody likes a snoop standing over you but the Keykatcher takes that pressure off the kids.

[FredDobbs]

Didn't work for long

After installing a blocker I caught my kids using proxies like http://proxydizzle.com to get around the blocks. Is there anyway to stop this?

[jewls79699]

accounts not being deleted

I've made some complaints to my space about someone being underage and one other person emailing me and harrassing me, they did nothing about it. Makes me wonder if this site is safe. The funny thing is the more I complain the more they keep deleting MY account.