• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Parenting MySpace: Popular Networking Site Linked to Recent Assaults

Posted on: Tuesday, 14 February 2006, 06:00 CST

By Blaire Briody

By Blaire Briody
The California Aggie ( UC-Davis )

(U-WIRE) DAVIS, Calif. -- As many as seven Connecticut teenagers have recently been sexually assaulted by men they met through the popular Web site Myspace.com. Myspace is available for anyone 14 and over. Although there are no known sexual assaults in Davis, Calif., that can be attributed to the website, Lt. Nader Oweis of the University of California at Davis police department said it has dealt with crimes such as harassment or stalking in which people have initially met online and in chat rooms. "Anyone can be on these types of Web sites," he said. "Anyone can be anonymous, and you don't know who these people are that you're dealing with. There are people out there that search the Web and look for victims." Although the Davis Joint Unified School District has an extensive filtering system and blocks the Web site on all campuses, some Davis high school students noted that everyone they know has a Myspace profile. Sharon Hallberg, librarian at Davis Senior High School, said the filtering system is so extensive it not only blocks students and teachers from inappropriate Web sites, but e-mail as well. She noted she feels it blocks a lot of Web sites that should not be prohibited. She is in charge of a full computer lab in the high school library and conducts an introduction on how to use the lab and how students can protect themselves online. Brent Buehrin, detective of the Sacramento Valley High-Tech Crime Task Force, puts on a program in Davis titled "Parents Guide to Cyberspace Kids." It addresses the dangers of the Internet and how parents can protect their children. In his experience with Myspace, Buehrin said he has seen several 14-year-olds signed on, younger kids pretending to be older, name-calling and writing threatening messages. He said the danger lies in a tendency of young kids to trust those they encounter on the Internet. In interviewing young teens about it he found that a lot of kids don't realize anyone can view their Myspace profiles. "A lot of kids think it's private and they're just talking to their friends, not the whole world," he said. "Kids don't have a global view." He asked the teens if they would give out personal information to someone, and they all told him no, that they would only give out such information to a friend. Then he asked them who they would consider their friend. They told him a friend is someone that talks to them for 30 days or more online. After this they would feel comfortable confiding in this person and giving out personal information. "Kids start putting up personal information such as their full names, phone numbers, addresses, and revealing photos," he said. "If you are a predator targeting someone it is easy to find them." Three students from Davis Senior High School said they mostly use Myspace to talk to friends, e-mail and comment on each other's profiles. However, according to the youngest of the three, a 15-year-old female, she meets strangers on Myspace all the time. "I click on guys because they're hot, then I add them as my friend," she said. "Half the people I know do that." One in particular she started talking to a year ago because she thought he was attractive. They chatted online for a while, and then she gave him her cell phone number. "I don't care who I give my number to," she said. "I can always just block it on my phone if they start bugging me." She continues to talk to him. They talk on the phone, and even planned to meet once, but he couldn't make it. She said she would never want her mom to know about him, and chose to remain anonymous for this reason. She said she adds anyone who wants to be her friend, especially males. "Guys are the only interesting ones to talk to on Myspace," she said. "The girls just have drama." All three of them said their parents know they have Myspace accounts, but their parents all told them not to talk to anyone they didn't know. The girl's mother asked to see her Myspace page one day. She started looking at her page and saw all the 'hot' boys she had added as her friends. "My mom wanted to know who they were and if I knew them from school," she said. "I said, 'Uh, yeah, sure Mom.'" In his program, Buerhing recommends that parents make an effort to be involved in their teens' lives. This includes being on their children's computers and talking to them about what they are doing online. He advises that a parent can allow a child to have a computer in his or her room, just not have it connected to the Internet. The Internet should be in the living room or another public household area. The Myspace Web site also has a section on safety tips for parents. To prevent misuse of the website, its creators have developed special software to review the profiles of members, deleting them if the member is underage or involved in "cyber-bullying" others. In conjunction with WiredSafety.org, the site is developing a special program for parents so they can find if their children have profiles, and they can learn how to review or remove them. Parents may also block the website from home, but safety tips encourage them to talk with their children first. Cameron Wilson, a junior at UC Davis, says she has had a Myspace account for about a year. She used to be on the website every day, but now she's trying to cut down. Mainly she uses it for networking with Christian music artists, but also found old high school friends on there. Strange people have occasionally tried to contact her, but she usually just ignores them and they eventually leave her alone. "I would never give out my phone number or want to meet them," she said.

(C) 2006 The California Aggie via U-WIRE

Source: U-WIRE

More News in this Category