The Dangers of MySpace: Information Every Parent Should Be Aware Of

There's no doubt that you have heard about MySpace. I'm sure that the developers of MySpace are swimming in gold at this moment. We've read about this on the news, heard about it on the television, and even know someone who owns a MySpace. We may even actually own one. MySpace is a wonderful tool used for communicating with friends and family, but it can also be a terrible tool that can be used against us and our families by online predators. We may like to believe that online predators are a myth, and they do not exist, but unfortunately, this is not true. Online predators are very real, and they love MySpace for giving them a world of tender, youthful faces in which to prey upon. Everyday, hundreds of teenagers and young children create their MySpace without the consent of their parents. It sounds innocent enough, but in reality, they may be setting a trap for themselves without ever knowing it.

Well, its' time for you, as the parent, to be aware about the dangers of MySpace. In the medical field, if the positive benefits outweigh the negative effects, the medicine is used. Otherwise, the medicine is cancelled, such as the medication known as Vioxx. Why do I mention this? Well, MySpace works the same way. It's a great tool, but if it's going to put you and your loved ones in danger, then the negative effects outweigh the benefits, leading to the conclusion that MySpace is a very dangerous place for children and teenagers to be dwelling in, and therefore must be approached at an appropriate, and serious manner.

If you're trying your best to protect your children as much as possible from the recklessness of the world, exposing them to MySpace is like allowing them to eat candy all day. It does bring a negative outcome. One of the things that you have to look out for in your child's MySpace is the actually written content of their MySpace. The pages of MySpace are not censored in any way. There are pages upon pages of MySpace users that insist on using profanity, and even derogatory phrases and words. You will see a lot of sexual talk, and even racial slurs. Do you really want your child exposed to this? Many users on MySpace condone the use of marijuana, alcohol, and sex. If your child is not old enough to understand these things completely yet, the impact that these pages have on him/her will be great, because it will make them think that it's a normal part of being older and growing up, when in fact, it's not. Also, many pages on MySpace are written by depressed individuals who insist of writing poetry which is suggestive and even outwardly blatant of suicide and death.

Another danger regarding MySpace is the images themselves that are posted by all members. While some members of MySpace post innocent enough pictures, there are many, many pages of MySpace that are beyond sexually suggestive. These people are posting pictures of soft pornography. Girls are posing almost nude, wearing next to nothing, with their breasts hanging out. There is no doubt that your child, if she/he has been exposed to MySpace, has come across these images. These images can be downright disturbing for the child. There are also videos that the users of MySpace upload. It doesn't take a detective to find videos of boy drinking beer out and throwing up, or girls passing a joint of marijuana and laughing about the whole experience. These videos and images of young people doing sick things are out there, and your children may be getting exposed to them unknowingly.

And of course, like we mentioned earlier, MySpace predators are a huge danger. Since young children and teenagers are carelessly posting all sorts of personal information on their MySpace pages, sexual predators love that they can choose and stalk their prey in accordance to the information they find readily available on the MySpace pages. I know of an instance where an acquaintance posted information of a party she was having on her blog (journal entry on MySpace). But in the blog, she also posted the exact location as to where the party was going to be held, which inevitable was her own home. What she did was extremely dangerous, considering the fact that she has previously posted suggestive pictures of herself with her breast popping out from a revealing top. You might as well hand an online predator some rope and the keys to your house if you're going to allow for your children to have their personal information online.

On MySpace, everyone on your child's friend's list isn't necessarily their friends. In fact, a small percentage will be people they know. The rest are people that they have never met. If your child is under-aged, and she has many "friends" who are 18-year old boys, what does that tell you? What, exactly, does an eighteen-year old boy have in common with a fifteen year old girl? I don't need to go into any more detail regarding this for you to have an idea of what I'm referring to. And if you notice, these strange boys may be leaving her suggestive 'comments' on her MySpace, making your daughter feel as if being sexy is of extreme priority. This kind of thing can warp a little girl's self esteem and potentially, the way she views her goals and life.

Now that you are aware of some of the many dangers associated with MySpace, it's time for you to take action. What are you going to do? The easiest thing you can do is to install some type of Spy Ware on your computer. These programs will help you see exactly what your children are doing online without them being aware of it. Also, it's best to talk with your children about what you know, and what you're worried about. Keep in mind that children these days are professional liars. They can tell you the biggest bluff and walk away looking like an angel. Even your most angelic child can have a streak of the devil in them, so always be aware and on the look out of the activities your child is involved in, especially if one of these activities is MySpace.