MYSpace in Schools | Suite101.com

Barbara Pytel, Paulline Larson Photography

Posted by
Barbara Pytel
May 13, 2006

Schools are under so much pressure to utilize instructional time wisely. Every minute should count toward improving educational progress. Should time be allowed for students to socialize on the internet? Some in Congress want to make sure that websites like MySpace.com are given no access during school time.

The Danger

MySpace.com has been under a dark cloud lately after repeated cases showing that predators are lurking on the site pretending to be other teenagers. In April of 2006, a Connecticut man lured a 13-year-old girl to a hotel room. In Long Island, four men were arrested for solicitng sex with a 13-year old girl--except she turned out to be an undercover police detective. Rep. Michael G. Fitzpatrick (R-PA), a father of six children, has introduced a bill to prohibit anyone under 18 from accessing MySpace.com on school or library computers.

What Is My Space.com?

MySpace.com is an internet site that allows teenagers to create their own web pages and share personal messages, bios and photos with others. The teenagers assume they are sharing with other teenagers. However, it has been proven that often they are sharing information with child molesters and could even be endangering their lives. MySpace.com has often received criticism for objectionable material in the form of language and photos.

MySpace.com, which is based out of Santa Monica, CA, has recently been working with security and law enforcement to address safety concerns.

How Popular Is It?

MySpace.com had about 68.8 million visitors in April of 2006. In the past year, the hits to MySpace.com have tripled. It is one of the top 10 visited sites on the internet.

While the majority of visitors to MySpace.com are probably teenagers looking for social interactions, parents need to know what their children are doing on the internet. Kids could be way in over their heads and be at-risk.

For protection software, visit Internet Predators.

Read previous articles on Educational Issues.

Dec 5, 2008 1:17 PM

Guest :

i think myspace should be unblocked but only in high school. high schoolers usually knowhat they are doing andd the dangers nof such websites. the firast i told my mom aboput myspace she freaked on me because she had heard news stories abut all the bad things on myspace. I offered her to check my myspace and nowe she trusts me. when people send me friend request i usually check their picture and see if i know then i go to their profile if i dont know them then i just deny their freind request if they send me another friend request after i already denied them i block them just to be safe. only you know who you know. dont mes with people you dont know. getting harassed is scary. i should know. this guy kkepping sending me messages and i got pretty creeped out. i know its your life and everything but try to make decisions with your life. dont go down the wrong path .

Dec 29, 2008 3:26 PM

Guest :

MySpace should definitely not be allowed in school. Not even high school. The horrors of some of the things that go on that are related to MySpace are innumerable. Kids get solicited everyday on MySpace. They get killed and have many malicious acts performed on them because they met their “New Best Friend” there. It is a breeding ground for sexual predators. It’s bad enough that people are allowed to go on this at home, but now they want to be able to access it from school?
Besides MySpace being a stalker’s paradise, what purpose would it serve in school? Should homeowners be forced to pay hundreds of dollars every year for school taxes just so that the very students they’re funding can “hang out” on MySpace? Think about it.
Little Jimmy comes home one day; “Hey Jimmy what did you learn in school today?” His mom asks. “I learned how to upload my pictures onto my MySpace and how to ask an 18 year old to be my friend.” He replies excitedly with a big grin. “She’s hot!” (Little Jimmy is 12 years old.)
What could our kids possibly learn from MySpace?
~RGJ