Myspace - Good or Evil? - Comments Page 2

my space frekin rocks!

My laptop and now my home pc's cannot connect to myspace.com .They will connect to anything else.Tryed different forms to enter into myspace but does not allow my to connect at all.Have any solutions why this may be or how I can fix this problem?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Firewall blocking it? Or maybe the HOSTS file?

Well, A very angry parent, you can easily delete your child's profile by TELLING her to give you her username and password. Why haven't you thought of that instead of trying to go around her and delete it?

Also, have you talked to her about it? Does she understand why you want her profile deleted? Have you explained to her these "dangers" of MySpace? I read the reply you gave to Rae showed that you aren't being the "responsible parent" you are saying to be. If you read the "Help Section" in MySpace, it gives you suggestions on how to lock your daughter's profile from anyone looking at it other than the people she adds on her profile.

Being the protective sister I am to my much younger sisters, I don't really see the threat of MySpace if you know how to utilize the security features on the site. It's not like they are trying to "hide" these options from you. They give you extremely detailed help on how to delete a profile, make it private, and even how to block messages from being sent from people your child is not friends with.

The site is more secure than you think it is. That's everyone's problem. They're not open to MySpace because of all these horror stories and aren't looking at the fact that all these people's profiles were public!! They were exposing themselves to the "poison", so to speak.

It just makes me frustrated to see people like that, trying to overprotect their children. Believe me, I was one of those kids, and they become "extreme" kids in the end. I should know.

So just let your kid have their profile and just make sure all the security options are selected, because they'll keep making them over and over. Believe me.

Swimgirl - if you had read closely I DID have her name and password and that is when I found VERY disturbing things on her site. I told her that I wanted it deleted and she didn't follow my instructions so therefore - I deleted it myself! YES I did talk to her about it and explained to her why I wanted it deleted and YES I did explain the "dangers" of it. She just went behind my back and created a new one. Just to set the record straight - I AM open to Myspace - I just wanted to know how secure it is when an eleven year old girl can say she is in her 20's? The point is that you can explain all these things to an eleven year old kid but they just don't get it, and they think that none of the bad things can happen to them,

i think myspace is a bit tedious. i prefer reading about determinism and aristotle... and furthermore i'm a really happy teenage induvidual - who enjoys life, and loves all the creatures on this planet...

So, angry parent.. people get raped, killed, etc every day... that axe analogy above was good. dont get angry at myspace, or the axe manufacturer... get angry at your child OR... lol... do the world, the cosmos, and the notion of karma all a favour and... dont get angry at all!

Explain your concerns to your daughter instead of exhibiting this paranoia-induced overbearing control of her behaviour...it never leads to hugs and puppies. Myspace is a magnificant example of modern communication...global, instantaneous and free. Myspace isn't the sole domain of pedophiles...they walk past your child in the street every day..lock her in the house maybe?

I've been reading these comments, and, being 15, I believe that there is good and bad to myspace. Sure, you CAN get involved in supposedly bad stuff, but thats a risk that people, especially us teens, have everywhere we go. Would parents rather have us out with our friends, roaming around, or on the internet doing the same thing but without leaving the house? And, on a side note...any parents that believe that they can keep there teens from going on myspace, your kid most likely has one. Thats one of the neat little things on myspace...you don't have to put your real name on there anywhere. For instance, on Myspace, my ID is Dr.Nefarious...nothing to do with me, just something that popped into my head. And we can access it from the computers that are believed to be blocked in any way (believe me, I would know) by our parents. The only thing that a parent can really do without banning them from the internet (and consequently getting their kids very angry with them) is to hope they taught their kids how to have fun and remain safe on the internet.

Posted by: JP on May 13, 2006 11:59 PM

In response to that, I agree. I am a young teen and I am doing a research report on MySpace for my English class. Through out this paper, I have found more good than bad. I use it everyday. Another thing mentioned was yes, if your kids really want one, they will find a way to get one, deleting history on your computer, going to certain sites that pass by the block code you put on it, anything and everything. Believe me. If you teach your children right from wrong then you should have no problem trusting them, and your faith in them right? What is the difference between a regular p**n site or a MySpace p**n site. If they want p**n, they will get it. That is teenagers today and we have our ways and we have the opportunities today to get them.

i think that its up to who ever has that profile what they have on there and who they allow to see it. even though people can get on there and look without u knowing u dont have to put ur real info on there like u can ur home town as washington if u live in texas its up to u what they know

Ok. That is all very good informaion to know. I am actually writing a paper on MySpace right now. Thanks for the info. I personally think MySpace is good, but can be bad if your child gives out personal information. If the parent has the child's password, he/she will be able to check their child's posts and friends. It can be safe.

I would like to point out that MySpace itself is not bad, it's what people do with it that is bad. When you tell about the viruses and all, and how some of the members on there are setting up bugs, your just giving people more ideas. With all these bad things being published in the newspapers and on the news about bad MySpace stuff, it doesn't help. It is actually pointing out that you will be somewhat famous (in a bad way) if you do these things. I think we should just drop the whole bad MySpace conversation for a little while and see what happens.

Your posts are interesting! I am 23, and i agree with what you all are saying about myspace being a double edged sword. On the one hand, it's a fabulous and amazing tool for connecting with people, on the other hand, it has being seriously abused by trashy pictures & profiles, hacking & spam, and people publicizing every detail of their lives for the world to see. (What happened to a little privacy and dignity?) But it's not hard to see why since about 2/3rds of the US is on myspace now, it's attracts all kinds.Just like any interent communication, it has the power to make your relations feel more personal and impersonal at the same time. Like some above me said, what happened to just going to a friend's house or writing a snail mail letter? I don't like how the various features have becomes abused (like public comments being used for personal conversations instead of the private email messages.) I have a myspace but it's private. But even with my small network of friends the petty attention-getting and drama is making me wanna stay away sometimes. I have a friend who's my age on there and she regularary send out quizzes (in the public bulletin section!) with literally hundreds of questions combined telling really personal and insignificant information. One of the questions she answered was the last four digits of her cell phone number. If that slips into the wrong hands somebody could easily figure out her area code then..bingo!..figure out the other 3 digits. It's so dangerous! Other people on my friends list do the same thing. I'm not trying to bad mouth my own friends, it's just that what they're doing is so dangerous and stupid. With the info and pictures on their profiles, a stalker could track them down just like that. You could find about any one person: dozens of pictures, personal conversations,boyfriends/girlfriends, make of car, workplace, schools, physical description, mood, and whereabouts within 5 MINUTES of looking at their profile. I would just hate to see them get hurt from something so easily preventable. I have learned one thing from the myspace experience tho....most people who are mindful of their own dignity and safety usually have private or mostly blank profiles, or they simple AREN'T ON THERE AT ALL. Myspace can be a blast as long as you put in generic information and play safe! I am not a parent yet, but i hope this gives some of the parents a heads up to what might really be going on behind it's doors! The best approach is the educate your children about net safety!

noooo you people are so stupid myspace is not a networking place well no it is but its more than that its a way to freely express who you are i mean im emo and without myspace no one would know that and i cut and without myspace no one would know that and i have excellent friends on myspace its a great thing now no lol to be honest it's not perfect however what in this world today is?? I mean look around you homless, abortions,murders,gangs....COME ON myspace is the absolute least of our worries right now instead of focusing on a website that "kills people" let's focus on the real problems that we face today and not only us but our futures you people are pathetic I mean seriously making such a huge controversy over a website and video games come on now THOSE DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO MAKE THIS PLACE WORSE...quit blaming society's problems on everything else. Do adults not tell their children to take responsibility for their actions then you go around and say that today's problems aren't your fault their a computer generated program's

I mean let's think this through

Hello there! I am a 9 year-old girl. I know that for Myspace you have to be 13. I am wise, and I don't go to dangerous and stupid websites. But as a 9 year old girl, I'm into cool websites like blogger, xanga, stardoll, but I stay out of trouble. I'm computer smart, but I would like to know if myspace would be bad for me. My sisters are in college, so they protect me, but they suggest websites to me. Please respond, PLEASE! So, shod I sign up for Myspace?

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you really are a 9-year-old, then NO, you shouldn't. There are good reasons for staying away from certain things until you're older.

hello, im 16 and doing research for my debating scociety about the dangers of networking and found this all to be very interesting. firstly, a word to "A very angry parent" by not giving your daughter any freedom to do what she wants you seem to be restricting her freedom. the same happened to several good friends of myself, like a theoretical party balloon, you squeeze and squeeze until, POP! it explodes, your not allowing your daughter to discover the world on her own and are forcing your own belifes of what is right and what is wrong. this is never the case outside your house. nothing is ever GOOD or EVIL, the grey areas inbetween are what she will encounter, not set restriction upon falsified morals. by attempting to quash her expression, the spark of rebellion flickers into a bonfire of hate. what is to say that your daughter is safe from the other supposed horros of the internet? it takes 3 clicks of a mouse and a scroll wheel to say your 29 born on the 3rd of august to acess a pronographic site. if you realy cared about your daughter you should allow her to find things out for herself and make her own desicions on what is good and bad for herself, with exemptions such as going to the dentist obviously. To quote Publilius Syrus, There are some remedies worse than the disease. T assume you dont want her to turn into a punk-goth with more chains and nails that somthing more akin to a small ship rather than a daughter. The vast majority of people on myspace have not killed themselfs im pleased to report, however the minority of which you are so afraid often already have somthing wrong with them before they go to myspace and there are websites out there that try to help with people who have bi-polar disorder and depression.

i hopes this will be some use to the discussion here.

omd i like totally read an article the other day sayin dat myspace is like super super bad sooo like i think its like super bad now yup yup its a true story = b

Myspace isn't a bad thing. It doesn't get people in trouble, or cause any drama; however, the people on it do. It's not a website that causes all of the drama, it's the people. Being a 15-year old girl and a lover of myspace, I think it's not the site we should be worried about. It's the people that are the causes of this.

think about it .

It's your decision who you add or talk to on myspace. Stay away form the people who may be a threat, and you're fine. All you have to do is change your settings to where your profile & pictures are private and you are fine.

I don't see what the commotion is. It's a website. If you're so worried about people finding your child and molesting them, you should keep an eye out on where they go and who they hang out with. You should be less focused on the internet and more focused on their surroundings and their friends.

idk wat some of you people are saying, but myspace isn't bad if its on private mode. ya, but some people could be a threat and stuuf, but if you leave it on private mode, you won't even be able to talk to pple that you don't know... my advice is to just put it on private... and then itsss finneee