Teens at Risk on Web Experts Say

by slimshady | February 20, 2006 at 04:24 pm

327 views | 0 Recommendations | 1 comment

it is ridiculous that web sites are blamed for poor parenting... it's not just on the web, it is on the streets, on the way to school, etc. not only do kids need to be educated, but parents do to... banning access is no solution!

Many schools have responded by restricting Internet access from school computers. One private school in Newark, N.J., ordered students to remove all personal blogs from the Internet, even if accessed from home, to protect them from online predators.

The concerns aren't limited to MySpace, but the News Corp. unit gets the attention because of its sheer size — 54 million users, a quarter of them registered as teens. MySpace forbids minors 13 and under from joining and provides special protections for those 14 and 15 — only those on their friends' list can view their profiles.

Nonetheless, kids lie when they sign up, and many of their profiles carry photos of themselves in suggestive poses, along with personal information against the site's recommendations. "They're licking their lips and arching their back for the camera because they can, and they have no idea of the consequences," said Parry Aftab, an Internet safety expert.

Myspace.com should be banned or by now should have a class action suit against it. These few steps they're taking as a way to make parents feel their kids might be safer... is of little value. Another big problem is that the teens go into myspace & set up an account...with the parent being unable to get INTO that part of the site, blocked by the password, so parents have an ongoing battle. Once that account is set up, the kids/teens can go anywhere there is a computer (even away from home) & communicate through this garbage...communicate with people they should NEVER meet or get to know. In my opinion, the issue of this teen girl communicating with someone across the globe is just ONE case of mega millions involved in this dirt. More Attorney Generals throughout this country need to take some steps to have Myspace.com investigated immediately...and include a site for parents to report complaints against Myspace. It's clear that at that point, with so many LEADS to the problems, a massave Class Action could then begin throughout this country & elsewhere against Myspace.com .

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