What are your children up to on MySpace? |
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
Loading ...Today I decided to — finally — sign up for MySpace. I’m only like number 57 million plus and change, so I’m way late to this party.
I’ve been reading about this site for quite some time, both good and bad stories (but lately more bad than good) and decided that from a parental perspective learning about this site was way overdue. For other parents reading, hopefully my overview will be helpful in getting you up to speed, but first an important question.
Are your kids on MySpace?
Only one of our three children is heavily into the computer, our oldest teenager. The other two spend most of their online time playing Xbox Live.
Every time I see what our oldest is up to it seems it is the game Runescape and Instant Messaging. I decided to ask him if he’d ever heard of MySpace and if he had a site there. Questions went something like this:
“Have you ever heard of MySpace?”
“Have you registered for a page there?”
“Have you put any personal information on there?”
“Do you know that putting any personally identifiable information on the web, unless you are a business and an adult is considered a bad idea?”
Turns out our oldest, Jowl, did have an old MySpace account. He said he barely used it, so asked him to send me a link to it so I could see what he put up there. Not much, he said. Seems like he didn’t have a whole lot of interest in the site.
Talkin’ bout MySpace Generation
I looked back through the history of this blog to see what I’ve written about MySpace to date. Not much there. Definitely I seemed prejudiced because I didn’t have much interest in a site with personal pages heavily populated by teens. According to the stats in this Yahoo story:
The MySpace network has nearly 50 percent of the market share of all U.S. Web community sites — 10 times more than any single rival site, including Yahoo, Facebook, Craigslist and LiveJournal, according to Hitwise.
Onto the registration process for MySpace.
STEP 1. Standard fare: email, first and last name, country, gender, date of birth, agree to terms (checkbox) and hard to read CAPTCHA to keep bots at bay.
STEP 2. Upload photo. My ugly mug is everywhere, so no problem adding here as well. Here’s the text warning in red verbatim:
Photos may not contain nudity, violent or offensive material, or copyrighted images. If you violate these terms your account will be deleted.
STEP 3. Invite some friends. I sent an invite to Jowl so we could be connected but when I tried to submit the form I kept getting server errors. They must have been working on things, I’d come back to this later.
STEP 4. I went back to the front of the site and noticed a lot of the settings were grayed out in my Edit Profile section. I looked for a confirmation email and it hadn’t arrived yet. My guess is this becomes editable field once the email is confirmed. When I returned to the home page I saw a page like this:
From here I was able to see my MySpace URL and MySpace Blog, as well as add further items to the profile. Man, there is a ton of advertising on this site. Will teens really put up with this much ad flak just to get a free personal page, blog and hang out virtually with friends? I wonder how many are running GreaseMonkey to combat the MySpace ad saturation?
Also, how many teens could take advantage of offers like tax preparation (see banner in screenshot above for TaxAct)? Also offers to stay at hotels, buy Qwest broadband, etc. If teens are the primary market of this site are they expecting these teens to run to their parents and say: hey, go with Qwest, I see them all the time on MySpace? I tried a different computer that wasn’t logged in and was seeing many of the same ads, so the ads didn’t seem to be age-targeted. Nor did they seem to be very region targeted either.
When I tried to edit my profile to change my status to ‘married’ instead of ’single’ I received a message: Server Too Busy.
My son’s MySpace turned out to be less updated than mine. No MySpace worries in our household, it seems. Have you checked over the MySpace situation in your household? What do you like/dislike about this site?
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I have created a page on MySpace but recently went about making sure that I wasn’t linking to it from anywhere. Why? I peronally don’t think that MySpace makes much business sense - and if it does, it sure isn’t good. Like you’d mentioned, the ads are not targeted and this is a haven for children. Not that my site isn’t “safe” for children (it’s about homeschooling and healthy living) but because I don’t want children on my pages wasting my resources. I don’t think that MySpace intended to be a teen hangout but it definitely has become one and for me that is a HUGE turn off.
Comment by Reverend Brenda Hoffman — February 20, 2006 @ 4:58 pm PST
MySpace, in my opinion, is a huge waste of time. Also, it’s a travesty and sin against any concept of nettiquite and web design.
1) My friend is literally addicted to MySpace. He sits at my computer (because he has no net access at his place) and hits the refresh button every fifteen seconds, waiting for a new message, or comment on his pictures, or wwaiting for a new friend request. This is really annoying, and could be a problem for kids with homework to do.
2) The site is an eyesore, in every sense of the term. Garish color combinations, faint text, and the afore-mentioned banner ads. I’m not any kind of eye specialist, but this can NOT be good for a person’s eyesight.
I might be biased in that I’m not a social person, and by social I mean “Has to be 100% available 100% of the time). I’m perfectly comfortable having ten people on my buddy list, whereas most MySpacers has over 100 friends. I guess I’m just prejudiced in that case.
Comment by Drakonik — February 20, 2006 @ 6:03 pm PST
I might be biased too by saying this because I don’t even have a buddy list
I can be the queen of unsocial at times. And, believe it or not, hardly any of the friends I do have can’t even handle computer basics let alone make use of a MySpace site (despite how simple it is).
I just don’t have a need for MySpace and have never been to the site. Someone I know (online, anyway) recently emailed me a link to join (I think it was called) frappr.com. I clicked the link and it seemed to be a little like MySpace in that you build up a community of ‘friends’. I don’t know for sure what the purpose is. And, for some stupid reason, I signed up but haven’t been back since
And, speaking of MySpace…interesting story about what (some) teenagers post on these MySpace sites:
A friend of mine who works in retail (Security), told me they were informed of 3 teenagers (school buddies) who each have pages up at MySpace. In their profiles they brag that they shoplifted a little over $10,000 (of clothing) last year in a certain department at the store where my (Security) friend works. Interesting to note, this certain department was short last year $12,000. These teenagers must have somehow (perhaps ebay?) got a hold of one of those sensor tag removers and are removing the sensor tags in the fitting room. Naturally, these 3 teenagers have posted photos on their site which will just make it easier for the store’s Security department.
Comment by Janine — February 20, 2006 @ 7:39 pm PST
i how i despise myspace. the only reason i have any experience with the arcane eyesore of a service is because it is yet another outlet on the social web. my intentions for the service are not for social networking means. i could really care less. my only intent is to try and help others realize that the service is complete crap, an eyesore on the web design community, and an overall waste of time. i can not for the life of me understand why 90% of the computer screens on campus computer labs have myspace open. why?
anyway… i have younger siblings and cousins which i care for. i know they are all active on myspace. being young females, i know the risks these types of services pose to young internet users. thankfully my sister has smartened up and removed her actual real life contact info. for the sake of keeping her “cool” factor, the only connection i have to my sisters account is the fact that i’ve marked her account as a ‘favorite’ so i can peek in every now and then to make sure there are no inappropriate comments, images, etc… for quite some time she used to lie about her age which i firmly lectured her about.
anyway… we can’t fight myspace. it has become to large of a force to be reckoned with. the only alternative is to seek other time wasting activities online elsewhere. oh.. don’t mistake my myspace div overlay help as a sign that i enjoy the service. i don’t. i just can’t stand people who manage to break browser with insane amounts of animated graphics.
Comment by derek — February 21, 2006 @ 3:48 pm PST
[…] The New York times has a story being bandied about this morning over the challenges MySpace is allegedly having sell advertising on their sites. Has anybody that’s wondering actually been to MySpace lately? That space is littered with ads. Something doesn’t compute here. Here’s a picture of the first — and last time — I visited MySpace to do anything other than to check friend activity (or the lack thereof): […]
Pingback by Make You Go Hmm: » MySpace not so good enough for ad space? — April 24, 2006 @ 12:28 pm PST
Yeah drakonic you are a looser man. Myspace is awesome i have found so many of my friends on myspace, everyday someone i havn’t seen or talked to in years has found me or i found them. It’s rediculous that you come with stupid comments about how it can’t be good for your eyesight, are you retarded? who cares it’s a place to make friends and get in touch with long lost friends, and keep in touch with your present friends. I have a myspace account as you probably figured and i love it! can’t get enough of it. I’m not like you said sitting there waiting for messages every 15 seconds that’s just pathetic. This myspace shit is insane and everyone that has been on or has just started said they are already addicted to it. If so many people are on it and can’t get enough of it then why would you think it is bad? it makes no since. Have you ever been to classmates.com? it’s almost the same thing for me. I have only met with one person that i met off myspace just to go to a party, otherwise it’s just a place to kill boredum.
Comment by Ryan — April 25, 2006 @ 6:15 pm PST
yea dude ur an idiot myspace is like the greatest thing ever invented i can talk to my freind, meet new people and find out about things like concerts, parties, and a bunch of other things….
Comment by B — May 6, 2006 @ 6:09 pm PST
LMAO
sorry TDavid…I know you hate these kinds of comments so go ahead and delete if you must
Comment by Janine — May 6, 2006 @ 10:03 pm PST
hey im jamie and i do have a myspace account and i think it is a great place for teenagers like me to hang out. i beleive this only if you follow the rules and regulations. One thing that bothers me is that there are many many many porn stars and “sexy” pictures all over this website. I actually do have to admitt i was obsessed with myspace a couple of weeks ago, but my mom grounded me from the site for a while because she saw my grades drop and was seeing a “cranky” additude in me…and i am os thankful! because now i havent checked my mail for about a week and it doesnt bother me. I have even thought about deleting my profile because i have had some nasty comments and perverted people ask me for nude pictures, but instead i kept my profile just cuz it is the only place i can contact my friends besides calliong them (surprisingly i hate the phone!) but i do not go on as much and i feel proud! but to conclude my statement i thin myspace is and OKAY place to go but there are some nasty pediphiles out there so beware!
with all my luv,
jamie
x0×0
Comment by jamie — May 9, 2006 @ 4:43 pm PST
[…] Look, I’m trying to get with the MySpace program, trying to understand the fad (is that what this is?). I’ve been taking a bit of a beating in the comments over an older Hmm MySpace entry for not getting it (see: “yea dude ur an idiot myspace is like the greatest thing ever invented”), so you bet I’m there for this IM beta. Despite their new IM client looking like just about every other IM client we’ve ever seen. No innovation. Completely and totally me too. What am I missing here? Better community connectivity? I … guess. […]
Pingback by Make You Go Hmm: » We’re IM top heavy already, thanks for piling on MySpace — May 10, 2006 @ 11:50 am PST
This is my whole idea on the myspace craze. I think that it is an obsession that people need to take care of. I see this comment that Ryan you left, and let me tell you man if you want to “kill boredom” join a sport or go to the gym. Get your ass off the computer and go outside and see the real world instead the computer screen. I love it when people ask me what i have done in the last couple of years and i can name off places i have seen around the world and in the united states. I don’t have to say, well i haven’t done much because my town is boring so i have to sit in front of my computer. I think this myspace is a disease in our community. I don’t like my girlfriend going on the site because of what other guys could be saying to her without me ever knowing. That bring me into a whole different argument with relationships and myspace all together. This site makes it so easy for one to secretly talk to other people without the other ever knowing. I think myspace is a disaster waiting to happen. All of these people that say that they were or are addicted to myspace. All I can say is get a new life because it is going to pass you by very fast and all you can think about what you did the last year of your life was…. browsed on a website. WOO
Comment by mike — May 24, 2006 @ 1:05 pm PST
hello i am a young kid who loves myspace too. we do not do anything bad on this website we just like to talk to our friends and if someone i dont know is talking to me i dont respond back. i do have an age and my home town but nothing to reviling.
Comment by mandy — September 28, 2006 @ 1:30 pm PST
To me…Myspace is only as awful as what you do on it.
I ae a myspace …and I’m very addicted and I know it..BUT..I am not a myspace “whore” I do not show my body or anything else…Myspace is a good site to me…its just what people do with it that makes it bad.
Comment by Elizabeth — March 1, 2007 @ 8:23 pm PST
Wow, I can see that my ‘cool’ generation has gone sour….fast. Yeah so I’m a mom raised in the 80’s. I have 3 teenagers and not only do they have myspace but I help them find their layouts, music etc, etc. I LOVE myspace. I get to ’spy’ on my kids friends and find out just exactly what they do when they aren’t around their parents. Yes, parents, even YOUR precious little angels do things you don’t know about when you’re not looking…oh the horror. Lighten up a bit people. If you can’t beat em, join em, then find out things on your own. My kids talk to me about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. That kinda happens when you are open to them. Times change, change with them. Remember being a kid or is that too far a stretch for ya?
Comment by myspace mom — April 10, 2007 @ 1:47 pm PST
Yes…I do remember being a kid and have to admit that I had to see what all the fuss was about over at MySpace after this post from TDavid.
I opened an account—under a fake name, of course. I didn’t think to fib about my location (zip code, country). And I used the fake name because I didn’t want anyone at work finding out that I was on there. lol And my co-workers DO hunt for the MySpace profiles. I just didn’t want anyone at work having anything more to gossip about than what they already do. I’ve heard them gossip about other co-worker’s profile pages and it isn’t pretty.
After I got the profile up, within a few days I added over 70 ‘Friends’—some I requested, some requested me. After a couple of months, I decided having a little over 70 ‘Friends’ that I would never even consider meeting in a public place in broad daylight was….well…stupid. Yes, the anti-social in me…lol Plus, the dirty disgusting comments left on my page were just as stupid. All I got from the experience was learning that there are a lot of horny people out there online…lol So, I deleted the profile.
But….but but but….I did create another profile….made it more real with who I am but just changed the zip code so people at work would have a hard time locating my profile. Plus, I only have a handful of Friends on my site—the few good people that were on my previous profile and it’s set to Private (something I didn’t even think to do with my first profile).
But, even after being a part of the site for a little while now, my biggest kick is getting to tinker with the profile page….lol Good for days when I’m looking for something mindless to do or just a total. waste. of. time.
Comment by Janine — April 12, 2007 @ 2:12 pm PST
[…] don’t get MySpace either, Kent. I mean, sure I get that younger people primarily are using it as sort of a quasi IM web […]
Pingback by Do you really make that many friends through social networks? » Make You Go Hmm — May 29, 2007 @ 7:13 am PST
I use myspace because it is an easy way to talk to my friends. I just moved so, I rarely get to see them. Also, its a really good way to get computer savvy. Because of myspace, I am now verrryy good at HTML :]
Comment by meggg — May 29, 2007 @ 6:39 pm PST