Beware of MySpace
MySpace is a great socializing tool for older kids, but it can also be dangerous. Here are some things parents should know about the hugely popular site: 
MySpace pages are not censored, and children have access to all sorts of inappropriate written content, including four-letter words, talk of drugs and alcohol, detailed sexual references, and even suicide and self-harm. Trustworthy kids who have no intention of seeking out such content can easily happen upon it accidentally.
Kids can post photos and videos of themselves. That wouldn’t be such a bad thing except that so many of the images posted on MySpace are sexually suggestive or otherwise disturbing. Even if you forbid your own child from posting an inappropriate photo, he or she will see countless such pictures of other people.
Kids can easily make new friends on MySpace. That doesn’t sound like such a terrible thing until you realize that you will never have the opportunity to meet and approve of these new friends. Would you approve of your middle-school daughter befriending a male college freshman?
MySpace is a sexual predator’s dream-come-true. Kids post tons of information about themselves on the site - their interests, hobbies, school info, and even where they’re going to be at a particular time and date. The info is just what a predator needs to find a child to harm.
MySpace can be a parent-free utopia for kids. But kids have parents for a reason: they need guidance and help to make informed decisions.
Banning MySpace from your home is not the solution. MySpace can be a fantastic social tool for kids when used appropriately. Explain Internet dangers to your child, and consider installing parental control software which allows you to have some control of what your children are doing online.
It’s not an invasion of your child’s privacy. It’s good parenting.
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