Yet, more myspace
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Yet, more myspace
| Tue, 04-11-2006 - 9:55pm |
As if we haven't heard enough about this ridiculous web site.
Students recently posted a fake, very offensive myspace account under the name of a teacher.
http://www.startribune.com/142/story/362449.html
The last paragraph of the article is what prompted me to post this.
It has good points, and confirms my very minority viewpoint on kids with cell phones.
I did cave on the text messaging issue. (I asked about that on this board.)
It just irritates the hell out of me watching DD's thumbs flying every time I turn around. She is more disengaged now. Even our conversations are interrupted by the ever annoying text message alert.
Any practical ideas on how I can limit this? In the meantime, I'm waiting for the novelty to wear off...

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I pay for DD's cell phone and a $10 per month text message service (1000 text messages). She received a $50 monthly allowance. Any overages on her cell phone (texts, ringtones, etc.) are deducted from her allowance. This seems to work for us.
I agree and disagree with you on this one. Yes, myspace can be a useful tool to responsible adults. However, like most things involving the internet, there is no way to police it. It is impossible to keep kids from lying about their age to get a myspace account and so far the only way the webmasters, etc. have come up with to verify age is to request credit card info as a verification of age. I truly hope myspace goes to a system like that--adults who want to use it the way it is intended will provide the information to keep kids safe. Will it completely eliminate kids getting accounts? No way. But it will help control the content and maybe reduce the crap that is out there.
That, along with a TON more parental involvement, are really the only ways I can imagine cleaning it up. It's disgusting and shocking what is out there...not only what our kids may be writing, but what they may be exposed to by ignorant adults who are posting their own experiences.
Similar to myspace is xanga. My DD tried to have a xanga account until we shut it down. She doesn't seem to take it seriously, even after I've told her and told her, that she can't put last names, cities, school names, grades, and phone numbers on the internet. And her friends--wow! I'd be appalled if they were my kids and were writing some of that stuff. My DD didn't do it as a journal, but more of a status thing. There was no real content, just lots of "comment me" type stuff. DH, DX, and I just shut it down and made the decision for her--to help keep her safe and to help her learn that it's not okay to use vulgar language and inappropriate comments in a completely public forum like that.
I have a livejournal account and my circle of friends use it respectfully. From my own browsing it looks like it is, in general, more adult-oriented with little vulgarity or dangerously personal content. I just hope that the kids don't find it and ruin it, too.
Should the journaling and networking sites be shut down? Only until there is a way to verify that they are being used by adults and the way they are intended. Sorry, but I think there are too many kids out there who don't have the parental influence to help them use those sites correctly. Too many parents don't have a clue what their kids are doing online. In this case I feel that majority (those using them inappropriately) will affect the minority. Such is society.
Dani
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