Viser, M (8 December, 2005) “Website’s Power to Overexpose Teens Stirs a Warning,” The Boston Globe

Overview

MySpace.com, a free Internet site created in 2003, now has not only the avid attention of teenagers, but the skeptical concern of parents and school principals. After discovering that several students had posed provocative photos on the site, in some cases even lying about their age, several Boston-area school principles have sent a letter of concern to parents.

The heart of the concern is a question of safety. Students put themselves at a documented risk for gaining the attention of online predators. But the displaying of personal information carries with it an inherent risk and willful, if naïve, vulnerability. Internet safety specialists, says Viser, have encouraged parents to monitor teens’ Internet use, “but respect their space and warn them before checking their postings.”

MySpace.com presently has nearly 42 million users. According to Thomas Scott, executive director for the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents states: “It’s just another more formal example of kids going on sites and no knowing who they’re talking to. In this case, they’re posting pictures and thoughts and taking it to another level. In the hands of the wrong people, it creates a bad situation.”

319 students from FraminghamHigh School are listed in a MySpace “group.” 431 Waltham High students are registered. To become a MySpace member, students must simply check a box on an online form saying they are 14 years-old or older. From the perspective of teenagers, the benefits of the site include socializing, learning about other people’s musical tastes and hobbies, and basic entertainment. Parents and principals acknowledge it can be a useful tool, but worry that students fail to grasp the risks that come with this freedom.

School fights, for example, have broken out over angry Internet exchanges. Some students have displayed unhealthy images of themselves. And in the case of one 16-year-old female who listed her workplace online, the “profile” enabled a man to track her down and molest her.

Hank Van Putten, principal of an area middle-school, recently contacted parents to inform them of the site, and met with the entire eighth-grade class of students to warn them about some of the items they were posting. Peg Mongiello, another principal, sent an email to parents that stated: “It concerns me when a child’s picture, name, and address are so easily accessible to anyone searching the Internet.”

Students have mixed feeling about the site. Joe Mann, a high-school junior said: “Most kids at my school, contrary to popular belief, won’t leave comments on their page that they’re not comfortable with. We have our common sense to use our best judgment on MySpace. At the same time, we’re just kids, and we want to put pictures up.”

Other students acknowledge that some teens go too far with the personal information they put up, but are not bothered outright by provocative photos. The right of the user to do what he or she wishes seems to be a point of devotion for students. And even those who actively post photos of themselves are “creeped out” when strangers email them to tell them they are attractive.

Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1.      Do you know teenagers who are actively engaged in Internet use?

2.      Why do so many young people create online identities? Why do they defend this as a right?

3.      What is the role of schools in addressing this opportunity that is also a risk?

4.      What is the role of parents?

Implications:

Teenagers have an innate need for attention. The Internet is presently meeting this need, if in a ‘virtual’ and potentially dangerous way. The challenge for parents, teachers, and counselors is to help such students navigate the freedom of the Internet in a way that is wise and restrained. Teenagers, when pressed, will demand respect and trust from adults, but one can assume that if they are seeking identity via the Internet then there is already some measure of pain and isolation in their lives.  

Christopher S. Yates cCYS