Is Myspace Good for Society?
According to some experts, the mainstream media has been unfair to social
networking sites like
MySpace, and Facebook. School principles even send memos home, warning parents to
beware of the dangers of the popular web hangouts that kids are increasingly
spending time on.
A handful of people who study these types of things were asked if these sites
were as bad as they are made out to be. Their opinions varied
on what the pros and the cons were, but none of what they had to say was
scary in the least, and some were critical of the negative media coverage.
Social networking is about building social capital, and these tools facilitate
that. These virtual worlds aren’t a good place to live your whole life in, but
they are making it easier for kids to make connections with people outside of
their local social circles. In doing so, they learn new things, get exposed
to new ideas, and can blaze new trails. The vast majority of kids are wise enough
to know to stay out of trouble and when trouble finds them, they know how to deal
with it.
If parents help to guide their children in their use of these tools, they
can minimize the chances that the kids will engage in risky behavior, or put too
much personal information online, and then the kids can safely benefit from
the positive aspects of social networking.
Read the article, and then let us know if you agree or disagree?
Posted: April 24th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 2
Comments
Comment from Wendy Hays
Time: April 25, 2008, 5:30 pm
Once againg the media is wrong. When MySpace was introduced to our household 3 years agi from my then 14 year old daughter, my husband and I decided that we would be watch her for awhile and signed up.
They have added much more security and make a great way for the shy teenager to find those at school that she was most like.
We also found that we can research her friends as well and tell her some traits we see that may not be great for her at this time. We have been correct on most cases, and very happy to be able to give her the warning before the storm.
What’s more, On her top friends, she has her parents and her siblings, some distant relatives, several of her best friends and her favorite bands. Since she goes to camp every summer with people across the country, she can stay in contact and still have good friends that would have never been as easy to accomplish.
I have met parents of these teens who say their daughter “isn’t into that” but their MySpace says differently, and also tells me that the teen sneaks out every night at 11pm.There is no substitute for parental monitoring, I have learned more about some kids then I bet most of their parents know.
Comment from Mark Sicignano
Time: April 25, 2008, 5:57 pm
That’s interesting Wendy. From a parental perspective, it’s like you’re getting a chance to review the “resumes” of the friends of your daughter. You’re daughter might not tell you what her friends are like, and her friends may act differently when they’re around you and other adults, but then you can go to myspace to see how these kids are expressing themselves and you get a better picture from that.
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