I have two daughters. They both have accounts on MySpace.com, which does not please me in the slightest. For a time I opposed it vocally and restricted its use in my home. I have good kids, they didn't acess it elsewhere...as their friends were doing. I came to realize that soon my daughters will move out of the zone of my 24/7 net of protection. I have to teach them to take care of themselves, to make wise choices. I needed to allow their natural self preservation to develop and strengthen for tham to be safe and happy adults. I lifted the ban, showed them some of the ways a predator can slip onto their account. They are very conscious of the dangers, when in doubt they check with the other for her opinion and together, they keep one another safe. I'm very blessed to have daughters who listen to me.
The problem however is less about parental supervision and more about the way the MySpace site is set up. It's like an internet STD....which is how my kids and I reference it..."Internet Predatory HIV.com".... Here's how it works:
I have a "space"....my three friends have a space...I allow them access to mine...they each have three friends who have access to theirs....each of the two other friends on their space now have access to mine...and I have access to the other two on theirs....and so it goes. If you do the math this means these kids who are led to feel they have some control over who is viewing "Their Space",actually have none. They can make it "private",but that defeats the purpose of the thing. The kids feel they are protected but it really depends on how safe their friends are...one slip and the whole net of friends is endangered. So, there it is...MySpace...the internet portal for sexual predators and the spread of STDs. Also...the thing is set up to accept such a wide age span...a teenager of 16yrs. has no business associating with a man/woman of 20yrs.,even in the most innocent of settings....this spells trouble.The site needs to have blocked areas..."over 18- over here...under 18-over there"....
BTW...my daughters have a private space, if someone "uninvited" slips in they are blocked and deleted immediately....smart girls.
I will not go into detail about the disgusting way some of these kids talk to eachother on this site. It will have to suffice to say...it is evident most had no mother/father in the home who taught them to respect themselves and expect respect from others....very sad.
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