Myspace and Its Effects on Mental Health of Users

We are all more than familiar with the internet community phenomenon known as Myspace; but did our dearest default friend Tom know the psychological monster that he was feeding when he created such a seemingly perfect cyber-society for computer geeks and teenage queens alike? Probably not. It was, after all, the faithful users who have birthed a website full of hurt feelings and porn bots.

If you are a Myspace user, you are probably familiar with the Groups section of the website, filled with forum after forum of discussion boards covering every topic possibly fathomable by the human mind. Some of the most popular discussions (besides the ever intriguing subject of America's pop idols) deal in politics, especially the upcoming elections and the war in Iraq. These debates get severely heated, and more often than not does someone leave the discussion with hurt feelings and a deep yearning to seek internet revenge on their forum enemy. Vicious statements are privately messaged back and forth, users pictures are copied and photoshopped in horrid ways and posted in the victims corresponding groups, and profiles are set to private. Why such ferocity on the internet? Do Myspace users really believe that winning their political debate on this website is going to sway our government in their favor? And why are people actually getting their feelings hurt by some anonymous person on the other side of the country, and letting this anguish pour over into their real life? It is not a comforting world we live in when our boss's mood is dependant on the success of his Myspace arguments.

Addiction to the website may seem like a joke, but I am afraid it may be more serious than we think. When users become anxious throughout the day to get to a computer and check their page for new picture comments and friend requests, it should be a red flag thrown to society. Suddenly a substantial number of people are relying on comments and friend whore chains to make themselves feel accepted in today's society. Our friends are even canceling plans so that they have time to reformat their page on Saturday night. Wikihow even has an article on how to defeat a Myspace addiction, and it seems at least half serious.

Let's not forget the amount of relationships that are ended (and sometimes begun) as a result of this website. Thousands of couples throughout the globe have engaged in relationship-ending fights over a questionable comment on their significant others' webpage, or a message that comes off as flirtatious or overly engaging. T-shirts are being circulated reading "You looked hotter on Myspace." The wearers of these items must truly be grasping.

Could a website possibly effect society on such a large scale that it produces an entirely new genre of patients for the world's psychologists? It seems ridiculous and far fetched, but I think there might be a possibility if current trends continue. Support groups will sprout all over the country to help wean Myspacers of the addicting website, and mental hospitals will house floors for the Myspace-crazed and internet-dependant.